Tens of hundreds of households in four villages in the Morogoro region, eastern Tanzania, have increased hopes of a healthier and more prosperous life, thanks to a project aimed at increasing the production of soyabeans using intensive technology developed by the China Agricultural University (CAU) in collaboration with Morogoro regional authorities.
Soyabeans produced through the technology are now being processed to make soya milk in the villages of Peapea and Kitete in the Kilosa district, Makuyu village in the Mvomero district, and Mtegowasimba village in the Morogoro district on an experimental basis.
“This project is intended to introduce to farmers how to use the technology in the production of soyabeans and processing the beans into milk,” said Rosalia Rwegasira, assistant administrative secretary for the Economic and Production section in the Morogoro region. Rwegasira told Xinhua in a recent interview that lactating mothers and children that drink milk made from soyabeans are very healthy because they get more nutrition.
Under the project, which began in 2021, selected farmers in the four villages were trained on how to intercrop soyabeans with maize and how to produce milk from the beans, said Rwegasira, adding that funds for the project were provided by the CAU.
“In the course of implementing the project, Chinese students from CAU and their supervisors visit Tanzania to train the farmers on how to produce the soyabean crop and milk,” she said, noting that Tanzanian officials also visit China to learn about the technology. Selemani Kibanda, a father of six children, who hails from Peapea village, said through Chinese technology he has learned how to make milk, and other products from soyabeans.
“The introduction of technology in producing soyabeans and making milk from it has changed the welfare of my family,” the 58-year-old farmer told Xinhua in an interview. He said the money he earned from selling soya milk has helped him build a decent toilet and he was now renovating his house. Omary Jao Mpimbiluka, 72, a soyabean farmer from Mtegowasimba village, said since the CAU introduced the technology, he has now realized the significance of soyabeans to humanity.
“Soya milk is tasty and nutritional and it has enabled me to earn money that I have used to open a small restaurant,” said Mpimbiluka, a father of five children. He thanked China for exposing him to the new technology that has improved his family’s livelihood.
