SUGECO’s programs consist of training in entrepreneurship, business ecosystem and network development
Kick starting business start-up support through internships and business incubation services
Linking youth to get access to capital, land, technology, market access and expert resources
The Sokoine University Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative (SUGECO) is a registered cooperative established in July 2011 by a group of students and academic staff from the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness (DAEA) at the Sokoine University of Agriculture. With currently over 1000 members throughout Tanzania, SUGECO engages in various agribusiness entrepreneurial activities such as provision of training in entrepreneurship, business ecosystem, and network development, providing business incubation services and access to capital, land, and technology, and arranging start-up support through internships, among others.
The main goal of SUGECO is to make a difference in the minds of the youth, communities, and graduates from higher learning institutions in support of enterprise development for self-employment, agribusiness development, job creation, community development, and economic prosperity.
The project targets youth and involves the construction and installation of 14 greenhouses in 14 Local Government authorities (LGAs).
The project has two parts:
-Training 20 youth on construction and installation of greenhouse in 14 District Councils in Ruvuma and Lindi Region. (280 trainees);
-Training youth on modern farming (horticultural production) using greenhouse technology involving 100 youth in 14 District Councils in Ruvuma and Lindi Region (1400 trainees)
SUGECO’s responsibility on the project was to conduct Training of Trainers (ToT) to youth who will train 1400 youth on construction and installation of greenhouse technology and farming techniques using greenhouse technology and in open field. In summary, the youth receive training on a wide variety of topics including greenhouse technology and installation and horticulture production, soil analysis and soil test, MINDSET change, leadership, ethics, and farming as a business.
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This is a collaborative initiative, between SUGECO, Farm Africa, and Big Lottery Fund, aiming to address issues facing smallholder farmers (SHFs) in the Gairo and Kilosa Districts in Morogoro Region. The target groups were: smallholder farmers, extension workers, village leaders, farmers, nutrition officers, pregnant and lactating women, food vendors, food processors, market agents, and roadside sellers. 4000 participants were trained directly along with 20,000 indirectly.
The project, which focuses on the promotion of vitamin A-rich crops, such as the Viazi Lishe (Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato), within Tanzanian markets, aims to address issues of household poverty and malnutrition - associated with a lack of public consumption (and awareness) in regards to nutrient-dense produce. By supporting smallholder farmers (SHFs) in ten villages located in the Kilosa and Gairo districts, the project aims to support farmers growing and selling high quality cash crops, thereby playing an active role within both the harvest and market processes.
Along with addressing the barriers contributing to household malnutrition, the NACC project is also promoting the consumption of nutritious crops, such as Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP), Quality Protein Maize (QPM), sesame, beans and sunflower - produce commonly grown and consumed within the fertile region of southern Morogoro, Tanzania. Moreover, an increased emphasis on addressing the market-level constraints that Tanzanian SHFs face, such as those relating to the quality and level of their crop yields as well as establishing reliable buyer and market-level links, will also help increase household income, and simultaneously help address the nutritional deficiency prevalent amongst Tanzanian children as well as pregnant and lactating women - a major issue facing many SHFs and rural communities within Tanzania!
The NACC project, which primarily focuses on addressing the issue of food insecurity in Tanzania, also involves analysis of the specific community-based barriers facing SHFs, and women in particular; current support activities include: providing training in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), facilitating the processing of surplus, non-market standard produce, supporting the development of farmer links with target markets and identifying gender-based barriers that hinder active female participation in the agri-business field.
The project was implemented through the Mkongo Agricultural Youth Camp. During 2017/2019 over 1000 youth recruited from various Districts all over Tanzania who benefited from Agribusiness hands-on Skills Training to 860 youth on four selected value chains, Horticulture, Beekeeping, Roots and Tubers, and Poultry farming. The training was provided by SUGECO to young farmers to expose them to practical agribusiness skills, entrepreneurship, and mindset change that aim to bridge the agribusiness skills gap and create opportunities for youth to embark on enterprise development in the agribusiness value chain for self-employment and create a job for others.
Mkongo Youth Hands-on Agribusiness was a two-year project funded to Sokoine University Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative (SUGECO) by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations from 2016 to 2017. SUGECO collaborated with Rufiji Basin Development Authority (RUBADA) on providing this training which covered four major programs including horticulture, roots and tubers, poultry keeping, and beekeeping. Over 500 youth from across the country have benefited from the training. The youth were taken in different batches including 50 youth who stayed in a camp for two weeks engaged intensively in a class and in a field session. During the two-week training, the youth were exposed to new agricultural technologies like the application of drip irrigation systems and greenhouse, among other things.
On October 11, 2017, it was the closure of the training held in the camp with the beekeeping final trainees who were among the beneficiaries of the training, and other guests were invited. During the closing ceremony, the Principal Agriculture Officer from the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Evarist Makene congratulated SUGECO and RUBADA for the job well done, adding on how the training will help young people to be able to embark on smart agriculture activities.
“The training that you have received should be well utilized when you go back to your home villages, you should be a catalyst for agricultural transformation.” Dr. Evarist Makene.
Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) Director of planning and development, Prof Damian Gabadambi urged the government to allow SUA to take control of the Mkongo agricultural youth camp so that more young graduates can be trained on better practices of modern agriculture for the country’s development.
Furthermore, SUGECO Executive Director Mr. Revocatus Kimario emphasized on the youth to work very hard and to use the skills acquired to transform their lives. He also added on how the country needs to undergo a major youth mindset transformation to change the negative perception towards agriculture and to attract more youth in agribusiness in order to combat the current unemployment challenge facing youth.
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Sokoine University Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative (SUGECO) in collaboration with International Trade Centre (ITC) conducted a three-day training on post-harvest management for horticultural products for the first time. The training was officially opened by SUGECO founder Dr. Anna Temu and closed by SUGECO Executive Director Mr. Revocatus Kimario. The training brought together 30 youths who learned on how to process and add value to their products. The fourteen youth were beneficiaries of the greenhouse from SUGECO, and the other sixteen youth were from different areas.
The training was conducted from 17th -to 19th October 2017 which includes five major issues in post-harvest management like post-harvest handling of fresh produce, horticultural products and nutrition, entrepreneurship in horticulture, hygiene, and product quality standards, and safety, and food processing and packaging. The youths came from Dodoma, Rufiji, and Morogoro, some of them have been supplying their produce to hotels in their respective areas.
The experienced trainers from SUGECO, SUA, delivered the training. Dr. R. Majubwa talked about the proper post-harvest handling of fresh produce. Dr. Mongi introduced hygiene, product quality standards, and safety. Dr. Gimbi presented various horticultural products and nutrition. Mr. J Massimba from SUGECO gave training on entrepreneurship in horticulture. Kathleen Novelia, SUGECO's Food Processing, and Preservation Officer introduced the benefits of sundried tomatoes and practical examples for food safety and handling.
We also received trainers from Jaunt Africa Company based in Dar es salaam who showed the practical training on food processing from several products in horticultural crops like mango pickle, tomato sauce, berries jam, yellow pepper sauce, dried papayas, and blanched green veggies. These products were successfully processed and packaged by the trainers.
On the last day of training the SUGECO Executive Director Mr. Revocatus Kimario left the trainees with the message “I believe that this short course training changes you a lot, I expect everyone to go back and sell the nutritional value present in the horticultural crops that you’re producing instead of selling the crops without knowing the nutritional content”. He added that the trainees will be confident in selling the horticultural crops after the training.
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Building Nutritious Food Basket (BNFB) Project with support from International Potato Centre (CIP) together with Sokoine University Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative (SUGECO), conducted a three days Training of Trainers (TOT) on how to integrate bio-fortification in agribusiness. The training focused on three bio-fortified crops found in Tanzania which are highly rich in vitamin A such as PVA maize, Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP), and high iron beans.
The training was delivered to 30 youth from different areas who were SUGECO-returnees from Agro studies Internship in Israel, processors, farmers, and suppliers of the crops. It was conducted from 31st January to 2nd February 2018 in the SUGECO conference hall located at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) Morogoro. The trainees were engaged intensively in hands-on training by sharing experience and knowledge with an expert Mr. Antonio who is the owner of Euro Ingredients Company located in Nairobi-Kenya. He shared product recipes that can be made out of OFSP such as OFSP concentrate, puree out of steamed OFSP, and OFSP milkshake.
Apart from that, an expert from Selian Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) Miss Mary Mdachi demonstrated how to prepare high iron beans porridge, alongside the introduction of biofortified iron beans seeds namely Selian 14 and Selian 15 which are to be used by farmers in order to increase consumption of nutritious crops, to reduce the problem of hidden hunger in our society, and to increase productivity.
Also, the training was delivered by SUGECO staff and experts from other institutions such as AFCO Investment Company, BNFB project, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), SRI-Kibaha, and CIP. The main objective was to raise awareness in our society on nutritious crops, address the problem of hidden hunger, highlight the importance of consuming biofortified crops in relation to nutrition status, and marketing of the bio-fortified crops in Tanzania.
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On 22nd July 2022 over 100 entrepreneurs from Morogoro, Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Zanzibar, Lindi, and.....
On 18th July 2022, the Minister for Agriculture in Tanzania Hon Hussein Bashe visited the Sokoine.....
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