Joyce’s Journey to Agricultural Empowerment
By Elison Malisa, Digital Media Coordinator for EWS-KT Tanzania
SHINYANGA REGION, TANZANIA — Joyce Julius, a 28-year-old resident of Katungulu-Wendele, has faced many challenges in life. After marrying at a young age, she was abandoned by her husband more than 4 years ago, leaving her to care for their three young children. Her father, who is disabled due to a leg injury that never healed properly, also depends on her for care.
Despite these hardships, Joyce didn’t give up. In June 2023, she teamed up with her friend Pilli Rajabu, and they began attending vegetable production trainings at the EWS-KT learning farm in Kahama.
When East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer started to shift operations from Kahama to the central region of the country in April 2023, local farmer Martin Kisamba took over as manager of the learning farm. Trained by EWS-KT as a Community Farmer Trainer, Martin has been sharing improved vegetable farming techniques with members of his community for several years.
The training sessions at the Kahama learning farm, conducted by Martin, gave Joyce and Pilli the skills and motivation to start growing vegetables. Even though they initially lacked capital and were discouraged from pursuing farming by many around them, Joyce and Pilli were determined to succeed. Joyce raised vegetable farming money by selling chickens, and the two women attended every training session held by Martin, sometimes walking more than 20 kilometers to participate in Field Days held at other farmers’ vegetable plots.
Through their hard work and eagerness to learn, Joyce and Pilli gradually improved their skills and expanded their farming activities, growing tomatoes on a 500-square-meter farm. After cultivating the crop, for which they equally shared the 300,000 Tanzanian shillings (US$110) in expenses, they successfully harvested and sold their produce, earning a combined net profit of 2,000,000 shillings (US$735), or 1,000,000 shillings each.
The women used part of their earnings to purchase two bicycles, which are now enabling them to visit other farmers and attend training sessions more efficiently, saving them the time they used to spend navigating the road on foot.
Their success has not gone unnoticed. The surrounding community now looks to them for advice, especially women who are widowed or face similar challenges. With consistent support from Martin, Joyce and Pilli have extended their impact beyond their village. Committed to helping others gain the same farming skills, they now serve as Community Farmer Trainers themselves. They visit different areas to train farmers on topics such as seed propagation, field preparation, mulching, and trellising.
Joyce and Pilli’s dedication and farming success have inspired others in their community. Suzana Julius, a farmer from the nearby village of Mwime, is just one of the people motivated by Joyce’s story. With her husband’s support, Suzana has started cultivating tomatoes on a 300-square-meter plot to generate income.
Joyce’s journey from overcoming adversity to becoming a community leader in agricultural empowerment is a powerful testament to perseverance, learning, and collaboration.
