Empowering Women and Youth Farmers in Tanzania Through Threshing Services

The Multi-Crop Thresher Machines (MCTs) Initiative – funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT through Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA-Africa) and in collaboration with Imara Tech, Farm Africa, the Agricultural Markets Development Trust (AMDT), Rikolto, the Centre for Behaviour Change Communication (CBCC), Nafaka Kilimo and Kibaigwa Flour Supplies (KFS) – is making significant strides in increasing incomes, creating jobs, and reducing the workload for these groups.

The project empowers women and youth by providing multi-crop threshing machines capable of threshing, shelling, and winnowing nine different crops including maize, sunflower seeds, sorghum, millets, green grams, pigeon peas, lablab and beans. To make these machines accessible and affordable, the project covers 50% of the cost, enabling women and youth to benefit from this labor-saving technology.