Story
Soya and maize: the rotation changing farms in Ruvuma
Five years into our out-grower scheme, farmers are harvesting more maize with less fertiliser — and earning from a second crop.
When we started buying soya in Ruvuma, most of the farmers we met grew maize on the same plot every year. Yields were falling and fertiliser was getting more expensive each season.
Soya changes that. Its roots carry bacteria that pull nitrogen from the air and leave it in the soil, so the maize planted the following season needs less fertiliser and grows stronger.
A price before planting
The other change is certainty. Before the season starts, we agree a minimum price with each farmer group and supply certified non-GMO seed. At harvest, our trucks collect from the village and farmers are paid on the day.
- Farmers in the scheme: 1,140 across 38 villages
- Average maize yield after soya: up by about a third
- Payment time: same day as collection
“Before, I sold my maize to whoever came. Now I know my soya price in November, and my maize is better too.” — Joseph Ngonyani, out-grower, Namtumbo
