Posted on January, 24, 2019 at 08:40 am
FARMERS, who are under the Community Savings and Investment Programme (Comsip) have started benefitting from agricultural projects after receiving training in entrepreneurial skills from the Tanzania Social Action Fund (Tasaf).
This was revealed to ‘Daily News’ yesterday that training had helped to improve the marketing supply chain of their agricultural products and services, thus uplift their livelihood.
“Previously, we used to sell sunflower to middlemen, who will sell the produce to sunflower oil factories. But, we’re selling sunflower oil from our own factory,” said Ms Annastazia Tarimo, who is the chairperson of Comsip Nguvumali Association from Babati District.
Ms Mwamini Ngomba, another Comsip beneficiary from Juhudi Group in Kongwa District said after receiving training from Tasaf, they set up Juhudi Group to produce and sell honey to earn a living.
She pointed out that at the end of the month their group deposits 40 per cent of their income in a bank account for savings, while another 40 per cent of income was issued to members and 20 per cent of the income was spent on supporting orphans in Kongwa District.
Tasaf Head of Communications Zuhura Mdungi noted that Comsip was set up by Tasaf to cultivate a culture of savings to members of the public after taking part in various projects.
“The main goal of Comsip is to enable members of the public to establish their own associations, which would enable them to engage in income generating activities,” she explained.
Ms Mdungi noted that associations under Comsip were governed according to their own constitutions, which outlined duties of members in the associations. She said instead of every member in Comsip associations to carry out the same business to introduce various businesses, an association should run more than one business to benefit from the market.
Source: Daily News