10 Feb

BFC Visits SUGECO Project Site to Witness Youth Agribusiness in Action, Morogoro Region

The Beyond Farming Collective (BFC), and Gates Foundation delegation recently conducted a strategic field visit to Lubungo Ward in Mvomero District, Morogoro Region to assess progress and strengthen collaboration under the scaling up Kizimba Business Model (KBM) implemented by Sokoine University Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative (SUGECO) with funding support from the Gates Foundation. The visit marked a significant milestone in advancing youth and women economic empowerment through climate-smart agriculture in Tanzania. 

During the visit the BFC delegation engaged directly with project beneficiaries and Cooperative Leaders. The delegation observed firsthand the installation and operationalization of modern drip irrigation systems designed to support approximately 200 youth and women farmers.

On the field BFC delegation observed   active installation of climate-smart drip irrigation infrastructure, strong participation of unemployed youth and women, youth entrepreneurs taking leadership roles in farm organization and crop management and high community interest in scaling the initiative beyond the current beneficiaries.

A key component of the delegation visit involved in-depth technical discussions between BFC representatives, SUGECO leadership and project beneficiaries. Major discussion areas included climate-smart irrigation efficiency as the drip irrigation system delivers water directly to crop root zones achieving up to 60% water savings compared to traditional irrigation methods. Beyond infrastructure the project integrates irrigation management training, agribusiness and entrepreneurship capacity building, market linkage and financial facilitation.

The BFC delegation highlighted the need to ensure beneficiaries move from subsistence production to structured agribusiness models by engaging youth and women economic empowerment framework. Discussions focused on improving financial literacy, savings mobilization and reinvestment strategies to strengthen long-term economic independence.  The BFC visit concluded with several strategic outcomes and commitments such as strengthening monitoring and evaluation frameworks to measure productivity gains and income growth, scaling cooperative-led agribusiness structures for sustainability and enhancing value-chain integration to improve market access.

The delegation commended SUGECO for its structured implementation model and strong community mobilization. This initiative demonstrates institutional power of strategic collaboration between SUGECO as the project execution, BFC as strategic impact design and Gates Foundation as financial and development support as all together these institutions are contributing to Tanzania’s Agricultural Ministry transformation agenda under the 10/30 strategy and Building Better Tomorrow (BBT) initiative.

SUGECO extends sincere appreciation to the BFC delegation and the Gates Foundation for their continued trust and partnership. The visit reaffirmed a shared commitment to innovation, inclusion and sustainability in rural economic development.