Excerpt and Photo from en.krishakjagat.org
On Pemba Island, part of Tanzania’s Zanzibar archipelago, more women are engaging in vegetable production and value addition, bolstering household nutrition and income security. This movement is significant in areas where modern agricultural technology and awareness of nutrient-rich crops like amaranth—a vegetable high in fiber, protein, and essential micronutrients—are limited.
Mariam Salim, who lives in Mjini Ole village on Pemba Island, is among the women embracing amaranth cultivation. Along with 272 other farmers, 53% of whom are women, she attended a three-day training course on vegetable cultivation and value addition. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through CIMMYT under the Southern Africa Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I) project, and implemented by the World Vegetable Center, the training covered good agricultural practices, as well as the cultivation and processing of grain amaranth into flour.
The training equipped Mariam with essential knowledge and skills to enhance her agricultural productivity and livelihood.
Participants received seed kits containing eight varieties of nutritious traditional African vegetables, including African eggplant, African nightshade, amaranth, cowpea, and Ethiopian mustard. Farming a diverse range of crops supports food security and improves community nutrition.