Between January and May 2023, FRESH activities reached 1,585 people including 745 women, 20 village and ward leaders, and 15 government extension staff. The Fruits and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets (FRESH) One CGIAR initiative is helping to increasing consumption of fruits and vegetable in Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions. It is doing that by improving availability, accessibility, affordability and desirability, as well as providing livelihood opportunities for women and youth, and mitigating adverse environmental impacts.

Training farmers on good agricultural practices

Helping farmers understand good agricultural practices is very important because this creates awareness and adherence with standards leading to increase yields and responsible farming. The process goes along the continuum from land preparation to harvesting and postharvest handling. FRESH uses stepwise approach to address the following areas: vegetable land preparation, seed selection and use of improved seeds, nursery establishment, pests and diseases management, judicial use of pesticides, fertilizer selection and application, weed control and soil moisture conservation by using plastic mulch, and soil health.

  Training on soil heat sterilization for raising quality seedlings, Olkung’wado village, Ngarenanyuki, Arusha

Farmers in Nkure village learn good agricultural practices for cabbage production

Training extension officers, lead farmers and college students

A challenge facing the horticultural sector is poor or unavailable extension services. Fruits and vegetables are highly susceptible to pests and diseases, that require close monitoring and management. The FRESH initiative held a two-day training course in Arusha on 4-5 May for 10 extension officers and 22 lead farmers from five districts, to impart new knowledge and skills on a soil health, plant protection, sustainable production, farming as business, postharvest management, and nutrition. FRESH also contributes to improved extension services providing horticulture knowledge to college students. Recently, 54 college students from the Horticultural Research and Training Institute -Tengeru (HoRTI – Tengeru) were trained on integrated pest management.

Raising awareness on the nutritional importance of vegetables and fruits

Studies show that improving diets, including increasing vegetable and fruit intake, could save one in five lives lost annually. Tanzania like other developing countries faces the challenge of malnutrition which is largely contributed by low consumption and an unbalanced diet. Both men and women farmers were trained of the importance of nutritional diversity, and participated in practical cooking demonstrations during field days.

Increasing adoption of emerging technologies and innovations

Demonstration plots of amaranth and African eggplant, Nduruma village, Arusha. Photo: TARI

Farmers are adopting new technologies including improved vegetable seed varieties particularly the Traditional African vegetables such as various types of amaranths which can be consumed as leaves, and seeds. Others are African eggplants, African nightshade, Ethiopian mustard, and other global vegetables such as carrots, cucumber, and tomatoes. FRESH stresses that other than dietary benefits, the target vegetables have the potential to improve farmers’ incomes and livelihoods. Moreover, the initiative has been involved in training farmers and

Cool box technology as an alternative for increasing vegetable and fruits shelve life

traders, studying, and testing the adoption of some affordable postharvest technologies that can be cost-effective for traders of fruits and vegetables.

FRESH (Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets) is a One CGIAR initiative jointly implemented by WorldVeg and One CGIAR centers, including IFPRI and CIMMYT.

Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets (FRESH) – CGIAR

https://www.cgiar.org/initiative/fruit-and-vegetables-for-sustainable-healthy-diets-fresh/