The Government of France has provided €515,000 (equivalent to 1.56 billion Tanzanian shillings) for the AgroKilimo Project, which is being implemented at six agroecology development centers in the country.
This was stated by the Executive Director of the Islands of Peace (IDP), Ayesiga Buberwa, while speaking to journalists after the conclusion of a three-day workshop held at the St. Joseph Sustainable Organic Agriculture Training Center (SJS) in Kwanyange, Mwanga District, Kilimanjaro Region.
Ayesiga said that IDP applied for funding from the French Government for the two-year AgroKilimo Project. As an initial step, they met with the six implementing centers to plan and discuss appropriate strategies to ensure successful implementation.
He listed the centers benefiting from the AgroKilimo Project as IDP; Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT) in Morogoro; the Practical Permaculture Institute of Zanzibar (PPIZ); St. Joseph Sustainable Organic Farm (SJS) in Kilimanjaro; Research, Community and Organizational Development (RECODA) in Arusha; Mogabiri Farm Extension Center (MFEC); and the Bihawana Farmers Training Center in Dodoma.
“We thank the Government of France for providing more than 1.56 billion shillings, which will contribute to the development of agroecology through six centers engaged in this type of farming,” he said.
The director noted that the selection of six pilot centers is an important step toward building a strong and sustainable future for agroecology.
“With support from the French Embassy in Tanzania, this project aims to build capacity, disseminate knowledge, and establish a strong national network of centers promoting innovation in agroecology,” he added.
He further explained that the project will fund Master’s degree research for students studying Agroecology at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and will work closely with the Tanzania Agroecology Hub (AEHT), which serves as the project’s main research hub, connecting all agroecology partners in research activities.
Ayesiga said that during the workshop, each center reviewed key aspects of its operations, including its history, organizational structure, research and training approaches, infrastructure and equipment, staff management, budget and funding systems, alignment with the Ministry of Agriculture framework, and long-term sustainability plans.
The AgroKilimo Project was launched in 2025 by the French Ambassador to Tanzania, Anne-Sophie Avé, and is built on two main pillars.
The first pillar involves conducting and validating a participatory assessment of how agroecology centers operate in Tanzania.
“The second pillar focuses on developing practical mechanisms to connect the centers into a network and create shared guidelines for research, development, and training.
This includes applied research and comparative crop studies in different environments, involving farmers in research activities, participatory extension approaches, and sustainable professional training systems.”
Ayesiga said the workshop identified several challenges, including a shortage of experts at many centers due to limited budgets and other constraints, which they plan to address.
Speaking about the workshop, PPIZ Executive Director Ikram Ramadhan Soraga said the project has come at the right time and will bring meaningful change to agroecological farming in Zanzibar.
Soraga expressed PPIZ’s desire to see Zanzibar and the world at large consume food produced through agroecological systems, given their economic, health, and environmental benefits.
Felician Pius of SJS said the AgroKilimo Project is important to them because their mission is to restore the agricultural sector to its traditional, safer systems.
Meanwhile, a Program Leader at RECODA said that through IDP, the AgroKilimo Project has already helped improve their organizational structure, enabling them to achieve positive results more quickly.
Assistant Manager of MFEC, Peter Mwita, said the project will strengthen their efforts in agroecology, including improving infrastructure such as water harvesting systems and other facilities.