Profyta is not only a partner of us in the Hanze East Africa Hub, they also play a part in a capacity building project from the Hanze Centre for Development Cooperation. For the capacity building project, they facilitated a training at the farm of Green Valley Agro on the 18th and 19th of January in Iringa, Tanzania.
Over 30 people participated in the training, which focused on the following topics:
- Mtumbwi, an alternative to substrate cultivation
- Smart Farming, the use of sensors in greenhouses
In November 2023 there was also a training, where the Mtumbwi was created. Now in January, in the (new) greenhouses, the Mtumbwi is prepared for planting. During this proces, the participants were educated on the subject. The large benefit of Mtumbwi is you can use local soil, bark and rice husk to work with. In the Netherlands we use rock wool mats and coconut mats. The participants were able to see the different types like bark and local soil.
Concerning Smart Farming, the participant were able to see the results of the systems on what is measured in the greenhouses (humidity, temperature, etc.) Profyta made clear what the sensors measured and how it imporves the cropping over time. ATC (Arusha Technical College) was very enthousiastic about these smart sensors, Profyta gifted them a set to use in their own greenhouse.
Both Global GAP and Q-Point were also present and presented to the group. It was great too see that the members of the training had a great input on the discuss with Felina Heussen and Alma Ruting (both Q-Point). The groups was able to discuss with the mebers during the presentation, which made it very insightfull.
Finally, YPR (Young Plant Raisers) remarked during the training period that less quality of potting soil, cocopeat can be have a dramatic results on the young plants. This involves all kinds of crops (from tomato till avocado). Profyta showed them cocopeat which was untreated, with a high EC, but also the (good) peatmoss and the test at GVA of rice husk, sawdust. The participants were able to see the difference between the crops on the different types of soils. They were therefore able to see first handed, how soil impacts crops.
Great thanks to the team;
Anna Mbodze, Martin Koome, Albert Chane, Serafina Lawa, Jasper van Rooijen, Khalfan Cholobi, Anna Mhihave, Daniel Widambwe and the rest of the team of Profyta and GVA.
Special thanks to the Government Authority’s, SAGCOT, TVETS, ATC and of course the farmers.
