Client
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finland, and Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Tanzania
Region
Tanzania
Industry
Forest plantation management and value addition (primarily sawn timber)
Client Challenge
Smallholder forest plantations and related value chains provide a unique potential to contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction in Tanzania’s Southern Highlands. Because of limited capacity among smallholder tree growers and wood processing firms, particularly SMEs, this opportunity has yet to be fully realised. The capacity of important institutions to provide guidance and support to tree producers and SMEs is limited. Other issues include a lack of financial resources and fires that devastate forest plantations.
Solution
Indufor collaborates to strengthen tree growers, SMEs, and government and private sector service delivery institutions. Market-oriented initiatives include enhancing tree growers’ market understanding and access, introducing improved tree seeds, integrated fire management, innovative products and processes, and finance.
Benefits
- Enhanced plantation management and market knowledge boosts income for tree growers.
- Diverse, enhanced tree germplasm results in better returns for growers.
- Forest product and manufacturing innovation enhances utilisation, market demand, and investor returns.
- Improving government and private sector capacity strengthens service delivery to tree growers and SMEs.
- Plantations that grow better and produce higher quality wood and an industry with improved processing quality have a nation level impact in form of raw material to the construction industry and expert income.
INDUFOR and NIRAS implement the Participatory Plantation Forestry Programme (2019–2024) as the second phase of the bilateral development assistance programme between Tanzania and Finland (2014–2024) to boost rural income in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania through sustainable plantation forestry and wood processing.
Working with local governments has maximised the programme’s poverty reduction impact. The programme benefits tree growers in 80 forest-rich villages where improved forestry practices can reduce poverty.
Due to tree growers’ desire for better forest plantation management techniques, PFP 2 supports village-based tree growers’ associations, extension services, and demonstration plots showcasing best practices.
To address the small-scale tree growers’ and enterprises’ lack of knowledge and appropriate technologies, the PFP founded the Forestry and Wood Industries Training Centre (FWITC) in Mafinga’s forest industries. This unique East African institute promotes innovation and practical capacities. The industry is being professionalised and improved by young graduates.
PFP 2 supports seed orchards and seed stands of diverse commercial species that are now yielding commercial quantities of improved seed. Village nurseries use these seeds to grow and sell better tree seedlings with programme help. This can gradually boost national forest productivity, fire resilience, and disease tolerance. Seed is at the start of the value chain, therefore improving it benefits everyone.
Wildfires pose severe dangers to the sector, so the programme helped local governments implement integrated fire management. These measures have been adopted in hundreds of villages, lowering fire risks and protecting household forestry investments
