Inspired by US visit, Tanzanian farmer eyes modern agriculture

More importantly, he has ceaselessly called for young Tanzanians to engage in agriculture as a proven way to get out of poverty.

His Malembo Farms Company has a vast portfolio with investments in Tanzania and Kenya and plans to expand to even more African countries under the ‘free economic trade areas’.

It came as no surprise that he was selected for the US Department of State professional exchange initiative ‘The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP)’ on Resilient Agriculture and Food Security—a prestigious, invitation-only U.S exchange for emerging leaders worldwide. 

Mr Malembo has built his agriculture business to be a trusted voice for new-age farmers, and he was interviewed by several national media outlets on matters of food security and sustainable growth.

This visit to the US has raised hopes among young farmers about what it would mean in terms of practical knowledge sharing and what strategies they will have learnt to improve food security and resilience.

A heavy burden of expectations from an individual farmer with no government post, but his influence is evident, and his track record has proven that where one fearlessly embraces innovation, others will follow.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in sub-Saharan Africa, smallholder farmers grow up to 80 percent of the region’s food, proving that food security is in the hands of the smallest producers.

These are the audiences Mr Malembo has, for the last ten years, tried to reach out to.

He has used all social media outlets, and slowly his message is getting through.

Speaking in New Orleans, Mr Malembo has barely had time to sit down; he has been travelling across states, meeting with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials, and visiting farms and agro-tech innovators, among others. Attentively tries to grasp all he can in the few weeks he has in the country. “We at Malembo Farms drive sustainable growth by translating innovative ideas into tangible market offerings and outstanding background managing multiple products from ideation to market launch and profitable monetisation.” He said.

More than 60 percent of the unused land suitable for farming is in Africa, and more than 50 percent of it is in Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique, he explained.

In pre-colonial times, some parts of Africa were major agricultural powerhouses, but now Africa imports a substantial portion of its food from outside the continent.

“Even Tanzania doesn’t fully utilise its land suitable for farming, not even half of it,” he said.

A monumental task is ahead for African farmers, and for a Sub-Saharan-based farmer, this visit to the U.S came at a crucial moment in his career.

He started by visiting Washington DC, meeting the USDA officials, and having a thorough look at their research and how they use their findings to facilitate their farmers.

His next stop was at Georgetown University, founded in 1789; it is referred to as a research university located in Washington, DC.

He observed their research departments, learning how they conduct innovation in agriculture, their practice of urban farming, and their environmental sustainability approaches.

The three-week programme has been truly transformative, an eye-opener on how the economic superpower prioritises agriculture, a contrast to what some African nations perceive.

“They view agriculture as a way to economic power and a key to their national security,” he observed.

He reckons that’s why they have heavily invested in research and findings.

He toured their data centres and saw how everything is done based on available records and how these institutions are at the forefront of assisting an American farmer, from their ideas to inception.

The loans and funds back up new farmers, help them set up irrigation systems, dig wells, build fences, and link them to their respective markets.

“Those who want to embark on farming do not meet financial hurdles,” he added. But the most sobering moment is his visit to Nevada, one of the most arid states in the US with boundless terrains of desert landscape mirroring areas like Dodoma in Tanzania.

The area is of low rainfall; nevertheless, they still do crops and animal farming, while in Tanzania, we look at Dodoma, which receives more rain than Nevada, as unsuitable for farming. Nevada has employed irrigation and innovation in their agriculture.

He noted that value addition is essential to modern-day farming and urged Tanzanian farmers against selling raw materials and embracing ways to add value to their produce.

A product like raw maize can sell at a higher price after milling into flour, cornflakes, baby food, or roasted maize.

Highly perishable tomatoes can last for months if they are sun-dried or pre-cut and frozen, and sold to restaurants, etc. Simple but life-changing procedures that, when applied, can revolutionise the agriculture industry in a country like Tanzania, where more than 70 percent of its farmers are small-scale.

Mr Malembo emphasises the need for research that will benefit small-scale farmers. Having an informed and data-driven agricultural sector will improve yields and provide a precise planting calendar based on soil maps and weather forecasts.

He said they practise technology-enabled farming, empowered by the respective institutions. “In the US, farming is a respectable profession, while at home it is looked at as a profession for people who have failed in life,” he adamantly stated.

That is one of the major challenges in his quest to attract more young people into the profession. The United States has a long history of courting foreign-born professionals, seeking their talent for its national development, and Mr Malembo stands as one of the few youths in Tanzania who are exceptional in his profession; it was only right to enquire if his invitation to the United States had ulterior motives.

“I don’t know about that, but I did ask why they chose me for the programme.

I have been able to learn a lot, and I hope the knowledge I have shared was useful too,” he said.

He indeed noticed several foreign-born professionals in US departments – a true statement of their value in talent and how they retain them.

He also enquired about access to the vast US market for his company, Malembo Farms. With the current challenges and reviews of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which granted duty-free access to the US market to Sub-Saharan African countries.

He is still optimistic that the market is open as long as we can produce to their required standards.

“What I have learnt is that Americans are encouraged to eat healthy organic food,” he said, “contrary to the notion that the US is the home of junk food,” he added. With his ten years of experience in agriculture, Malembo denounced GMO products in Tanzania, stating that Tanzania still has stretches of agricultural land that have not been utilised; the use of GMOs is prompted by a lack of land, which we do have, so there is no need for that type of produce, and we should strengthen the use of our indigenous seeds in our farming.

He witnessed in his visit to the botanical garden how the US has preserved all the traditional seeds from across the globe and questioned how, as Tanzania, we preserve ours.

“In the years to come, the one who sells you the seeds will be the one who makes you a slave,” he warned.

Africa has to be intentional about preserving its traditional agriculture practices that have been conducive for its soil but also embrace positive technology in its farming, he stated. In Tanzania, we shouldn’t even be consuming broiler chicken; we could farm our traditional free-range chicken and still be able to satisfy the local market, but it goes back to lack of research and data in our decision-making, he observed.

The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) selected two participants from Tanzania, with Lydia Mhoro from the Sokoine University of Agriculture located in Morogoro joining Malembo.

Each country that was involved had one participant.

Malembo wishes that in the future, government leaders and decision-makers will also be invited so that what is learnt can also be implemented within the government realm. He saw a wealth of useful information that could have a significant impact on our agriculture ministry.

He will, however, use the leverage he has within the government to propose what he learnt and see if it can be absorbed.

Above all, he hopes priorities will be placed on strengthening agricultural research, involving the youth as key participants in agriculture, who are prone to unemployment when jobs are readily available in farming, but the youth have to be incentivised to join in. Thirdly, he hopes the financial institutions will be strongly tied and involved in agriculture. Farming involves huge capital, and loans are a necessity in its operations, as he had seen in the US, but in Tanzania, financial institutions are afraid of agriculture, branding it a high-risk investment; he hopes that will change.

He is aware of the strength of social media and its influence, and that’s where he will start sharing his experience and what he has learnt in one month in the United States.

“I want all Tanzanians – and not only me – to benefit from what I have learnt,” he said.