Kilombero
The ecology and biodiversity in Southern Tanzania’s Kilombero Valley are critical at all levels—local, regional, national, and global. The landscape is part of the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor, an area that produces more than half of all the food grown in Tanzania. However, climate change and unsustainable land use have largely wiped out large mammal populations, pressure on water sources has intensified, and soil carbon is showing signs of concerning changes.
Kilombero faces critical ecological and development challenges: Both Tanzania’s breadbasket and its biodiversity depend on how the land is worked. Since 2014, we have partnered with local communities and commercial agricultural producers in this vital corridor, helping communities with:
- Land-use planning
- Human-wildlife conflict prevention and mitigation
- Expanding farmers’ use of ecologically and economically viable production technologies
- Improving farmers’ access to financial institutions and markets
- Helping families diversify incomes to develop resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate-change impacts
Farmers in Kilombero have embraced these measures. As a result, they have increased income while reducing pressure on land and water resources.
We work with the people of Tanzania for wildlife. Our strategic, implementing and funding partners include:
We work with the people of Tanzania for wildlife. Our strategic, implementing and funding partners include:
By the Numbers
70% Increase in sugarcane harvest per hectare
36% Increase in rice harvest and 28% increase in cocoa harvest
9,000 Sugarcane, rice, and cocoa farmers engaged
