Abdul, a man living in Tanzania, enjoys his life as a farmer. His field produces a variety of crops that help him provide for his family.
One of Abdul’s favorite crops is his sunflowers. Recently, he pressed stored sunflowers from his field to make 10 liters of cooking oil and still had some sunflower left over! He used the cooking oil to make food, and the sunflower was beneficial for his daughter’s health as she was breastfeeding.
Abdul’s field is a reliable source of food for his family. But this has not always been the case.
“The yields were poor from my field,” Abdul said.
This lack of crops created uncertainty in Abdul’s life, since the economy in Tanzania depends on agriculture. With severe weather and natural disasters affecting the vulnerability of crops and livestock, access to food can be a concern.
However, uncertainty turned into security when Abdul connected with Convoy of Hope’s Agriculture program.
Through the agricultural training, Abdul learned about many important aspects of farming, such as budgeting and growing a diverse range of crops.
“The training was very good,” Abdul said. “It changed my life from poor agricultural practices to good agronomic practices.”
Now Abdul grows many different crops in his field, such as maize, sunflowers, and lablab — a versatile, high-protein legume. He uses his training from Convoy to continue to develop his field and provide for his family.
“I no longer worry about food security at my household because I expect to harvest enough for food and surplus,” Abdul said.
As Abdul looks to the future, he hopes his family will continue to have good health and enough food. Now that he has his training and his thriving field, this future is no longer out of reach.
“I love farming,” Abdul said, “and I can say that the presence of Convoy of Hope in our community has changed my life.”
