Foundation for Organic Agriculture Tanzania (FOATZ) is an organization that provides knowledge and services to small farmers, especially marginalized farmers who have inadequate knowledge of ecological organic farming techniques, market skills of natural/organic products, and sustainable livelihoods.
Agriculture is Tanzania’s main economic activity that employs about 77% of the total population. The change of the climatic system raises concern on how best natural resources should be utilized to sustain and increase crops and livestock production.
The majority of small scale farmers are using poor agroecological practices that degrade the environment.
These are:
- cultivating small size of farmland,
- cutting all trees,
- poor applied simple tools in preparing the land,
- practicing mono-cropping
- poor farming practices within the hills,
- overgrazing and bush-fires.
- Applying synthetic chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides