International Poverty Reduction Center in China finances phase I of the Joint Program of Scaling up the Maize Labor Intensification System in Morogoro (Linked to Record ID#68532, #85130)

In 2011, China Agriculture University (CAU) began working with Tanzanian authorities and Sokoine University of Agriculture to launch the Joint Program of Scaling up the Maize Labor Intensification System in Morogoro (or Double One Project). This program was implemented in two different phases.

This project captures the first phase also called Labor-intensive and Low-investment Maize Production Technology Demonstration Project in Peapea Village. It was financed by the International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC). The purpose of this project was to increase crop yields and increase farmers' incomes in Tanzania.

Starting in 2014, experts from CAU along with new farming technology travelled to Tanzania to test-run new maize cultivations in 12 experimental households.

Due to this initial success, the Chinese government carried out this project in two phases across several more villages. Phase II of this project is recorded in #85130. In 2018, CAU launched a new project (#68532) intended to expand and improve upon the two previous phases.

According to a press release from the China Institute for South-South Cooperation in Agriculture (CISSCA) (p. 4), the first phase of technical assistance directly benefited more than 200 rural households in Peapea village in Ludewa and Kilosa Districts in the Morogoro Region, covering more than 1000 mu of maize field, increased the maize yield from 66 kg per mu to nearly 200 kg per mu, and the maize production technology has been extended to four neighboring villages.

The technology has also been extended via competitions in the Kilosa District.