Community need

Kitunda, a busy farming area on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania, is home to many small-scale farmers who keep poultry to supplement other income or to feed their families. The farmers struggle with many issues: poultry diseases, parasites, poor nutrition and access to professional veterinary services.

Without access to the internet, modern marketing skills and market information, they are unable to compete with bigger suppliers who sell to supermarkets and hotels. The Tanzania Library Services Board (TLSB) helps farmers overcome these challenges.

The innovative project

The library’s mobile training service combined ICT and enterprise skills to help farmers compete in a rapidly changing business environment. With support from the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) in 2012, and in partnership with the poultry company, Interchick Co. Ltd., the library travelled to Kitunda with computers to teach the farmers information and communicaton technology (ICT) and business skills. In Dar es Salaam, the library provides free access to the internet for farmers to research up-to-date information and market prices.

EIFL-PLIP project timeline

July 2012 - June 2013.

achievements and impact

The service raised awareness among poultry farmers about the ways in which ICT can be used to access information needed to improve farming methods and incomes, and to market poultry products. It built farmers’ confidence and skills, encouraging them to use the internet, and improved their business skills.

additional resources

Read a two-page case study about the library's Poultry Information Service.

More public libraries improving farmers' lives

Read about more innovative public library services improving farmers' lives. PLIP-AGRICULTURE