Young Mothers in Tanzania Find a Career in Vegetables
These young mothers have come a long way. A year ago, they did not know how to farm—and they did not view vegetable farming as an attractive way to earn an income. Now, their beautiful field and bountiful harvest are a testament to all they have learned about vegetable cultivation.
As part of our commitment to bringing more women and young people into farming, the East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer (EWS-KT) team in Tanzania has been working with Enlighten Development Organization (EDO), a nonprofit organization in Ifakara, to introduce economically and socially disadvantaged young mothers to vegetable production. The program aims to equip these adolescent girls and young women with the knowledge and resources they need to become economically independent.
Our collaboration with EDO began in 2023 with a group of 10 mothers in their teens and 20s from Morogoro and Ifakara. In 2024, we worked closely with 73 young mothers on all aspects of vegetable production—and reached an additional 150 women and adolescent girls through training sessions and public Field Days.
The young mothers program is ongoing, with the latest cohort of 32 participants beginning in March 2025.
Under the direction of Technical Field Officer Winnie Kessy, each cohort of young mothers starts learning about vegetable production with a home garden. They then collectively cultivate a larger farm for two crop cycles. Only then are they ready to start growing vegetables independently to support themselves and their young children.
In addition to months of field-based experience and theoretical training sessions, the young women in more recent cohorts complete our VeggieTap digital certification course in vegetable production, working in small groups to support program participants who do not have smartphones.
A Field Day in mid-January 2025 celebrated the graduation of 23 program participants, while attracting more than 300 farmers to learn about seed selection, raised bed preparation, trellising, and more. As with other EWS-KT Field Days in Tanzania, a variety of stakeholders attended the event, including seedling producers, vegetable buyers, community development organizations, government extension officers, and EWS-KT Community Farmer Trainers.
EWS-KT Tanzania’s partnership with EDO not only prepares disadvantaged young women for profitable careers in agriculture but connects them to a network of community support for sustainable growth.
