Tanzania has a population of 63.59 million people (2021), 65% living in rural areas and 65% working in agriculture. Skilled agricultural and fishery workers constituted most of the employed individuals in Tanzania, between June 2020 and July 2021, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total employment.
The highest paying jobs are found in the cities and towns and require good education and professional training. (Doctors, nurses, lawyers, company management and executives, pilots, oil & gas engineers, finance managers and analysts etc)
Approximately 8% of the population suffers from insufficient food consumption. Valenova Foundation focuses on education and agricultural projects to improve the standard of living.
Map of Tanzania showing Ifakara
Ifakara is a small rural town in Kilombero District, Morogoro region in south central Tanzania. The town is located near the Tanzania-Zambia Railways (TAZARA) lines at the edge of the Kilombero valley, a vast swampland flooded by the mighty Kilombero River. The majority of the inhabitants of Ifakara are subsistence farmers and engage in small business. They cultivate rice, maize, sugar cane, millet, wheat, cassava, bananas, coconuts and fruits such as mangoes and oranges.
Ifakara Main Street
Picture of the farmer working on rice land
The staple foods are rice and maize (corn). Gardening is important to supplement the farm crops. Here they grow vegetables such as spinach, cabbages, tomatoes and onions.
Ifakara largely occupies the central position on the fertile alluvial fan of Kilombero valley land. It is an authentic savannah grassland with natural grass fields that are green during the rainy season and brown in the dry season. Some exceptions are the beautiful evergreen banks of the Kilombero River and cultivated lands.
Fishing has always been the main economic activity of the people living along the Kilombero River. The river provides many species of fish and prawns. The waterways are vast and complex and the locals have mastered navigating the fertile alluvial fans.
In Ifakara there are many major institutions in the health sector; Ifakara Health Institute (IHI)https://www.ihi.or.tz, St. Francis Referral Hospital, sfh.or.tz, St. Francis University College of Health and Allied Sciences, https://sfuchas.ac.tz, Ifakara School of Nursing and Tanzania Training Centre for International Health. (TTCIH),https://www.ttcih.ac.tz
Valenova Foundation focuses on education to enable people to gain good employment at the local institutions, service sectors and improve agricultural practices.
With the land, the river and professional institutions and companies available, this community has great potential to raise the standard of living for everyone and become very self-sufficient, supporting each other as needs arise. Valenova has managed many projects to meet this goal like the tractor project, irrigation project, shoemakers’ workshop, bringing electricity to the village, building new water wells, building the study hall.
The board of Valenova is made up of local people who understand the needs and barriers that face members of their community and know how to address them. The make-up of the board is a strong step to community self-reliance
The elders distributing the corn