East African farming gets European Union support

March 15 , 2013

Small-scale farmers in East Africa have been granted €1.4 million (US$1.8 million) from the European Commission to promote food security and improve policy dialogue, the Tanzania Daily News reported.

Uledi Mussa of Tanzania's Ministry of East African Cooperation said that the three-and-a-half year grant would help agricultural trade in the region and push growth for small farmers.

The funds will be managed by the East African Community (EAC) and the Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers Forum (ESAFF), incorporating farmers in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

ESAFF chairman Moses Shaha said the grant will help small farmers improve their organizational, technical and managerial capacities.

"We will recruit more members and build their capacity to be able to influence national and regional policies in agriculture," Shaha said in the Tazanian paper.