Agricultural support

An agricultural dream.

“We have a dream to turn our farming endeavor into a business which supports our mission, educates local business, and transforms the agricultural industry in Tanzania”

— DR. STEVE MEYER, FOUNDER OF STEMM

Tanzania is an incredibly agrarian-dependent society, yet the vast majority of agriculture is at a bare sustenance level. We have been provided with an incredible opportunity via our orphanage location on 100 acres of rich fertile land with three highly productive deep-water wells.

Our farm has demonstrated that we can grow almost anything. Our dream is to turn our farming endeavor into a highly profitable business that can support our many philanthropic and community development projects, while also serving as a learning center for local farmers, agribusiness companies, and governments.

The vast majority of local farmers till the soil and produce like their ancestors’ generations before them. If we can introduce alternative crops, teach modern farming practices, and open markets for cash crops we can potentially transform all East Africa. Our goal for our farm is to become a teaching and training center for our region, as well as the primary support sustaining our entire operation.

We believe that with the proper partnership with institutional centers of higher learning, USDA, and agribusiness companies that much of the agribusiness financial opportunity which currently is lost to other countries can be captured in Tanzania. For example, it is estimated that up to 70% of sunflower oil production is lost due to inefficient processing practices. We can make a difference in this Tanzanian industry, and many others by introducing modern value-added processing practices. Additionally, our farm staff has honed in on 5 crops we know we can raise and market well in Tanzania: Corn, beans, Bananas, Papayas, and tomatoes. We have also begun partnerships with organizations such as the Institute of Tropical Agriculture and are actively seeking others. Ideally, we would like to see our farm becoming a co-op of sorts, which would not just allow us to capture better prices for our products, but also for the small-holder farmers around us, by finding the best markets for our products— either in Tanzania, or potentially Kenya or even Europe or India. We also have opportunities for farm expansion which are exciting and necessary if we intend to realize our goal of self-sufficiency.

We have a dream that farmers, agribusiness companies, and governments from across East Africa will come and visit this farming oasis. We know that when people see the Christ-centered activities and the “why” behind them, hearts will be opened to the message of God’s love for all.

Finally, the economic potential our 80 acre farm affords is tremendous. With proper management and execution we firmly believe that at least half of our annual mission budget can be met via farm profitability . We are diligently seeking funds for capital Improvement to realize our full potential as well as volunteers to provide input,  advice and management skills, and prayers. Your experience and skills could be transformative through a short-term volunteer trip to enhance our farm initiative.