At Harvard Business School, Tanzanian Farmer Shares Successes of Feed the Future Program

In November, two Tanzanians working in agriculture traveled to the Harvard Business School to present on the role of smallholder Tanzanian farmers in agriculture.

Nakoli Mgaya, a Lead Farmer under a Feed the Future program in Tanzania, and Shukrani Biseko, a Business Advisor for TechnoServe, were invited to the Private and Public, Scientific, Academic and Consumer Food Group conference at Harvard to give conference attendees firsthand perspectives on the design and implementation of programs under discussion. 

Feed the Future aims to improve the livelihood of smallholder horticulture farmers by increasing the incomes of at least 9,000 Tanzanian farmers while enhancing food security.

As a Business Advisor, Biseko has been working on the improvement of avocado production. He was recently promoted to the position of Senior Agronomist, and will be in charge of improving Agronomy training, improving Lead Farmers’ capacity to support their fellow farmers, and expanding the impact of training to female beneficiaries.  

Mgaya was selected as a Lead Farmer because of his high avocado yields and sales, as well as his enthusiasm towards mentoring other farmers. Mgaya helped his fellow farmers establish a nursery for 20,000 avocado seedlings, ensuring seedling supply for nearby villagers for the next year.  Mgaya has used money raised as a result of selling his seedlings to pay for his children’s school expenses.