Hundreds of smallholder farmers gathered in the city of Morogoro on November 17 and 18 for the 27th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the National Network of Small-Scale Farmers Groups in Tanzania (MVIWATA). MVIWATA has organized farmers stretching from groups at the grassroots all the way to a national network as the issues that it was founded to address three decades ago continue to persist in Tanzania today. 

Leading up to this year’s meeting, the organization developed its 2022-2026 strategic plans, identifying six areas of priority. The first is to “retain the dignity of the farmers as a class.” The second area is agroecology and food sovereignty. 

“Agroecology and food sovereignty is an alternative system that tells us that farmers can produce in a just system that respects the rights of the producers and the consumers, the environment, and biodiversity. It tells us that we can produce keeping in mind that food is a right, not just a mere product to be sold” says Theodora Pius, the Head of Program at MVIWATA

MVIWATA also works with the youth, educating them on agroecology, self-reliance, and political economy.