Singida Programme Update || 2024

An update from the field…

With a total of over 1,1 million trees being restored in Cluster B of the Regreening Singida Programme and through abundant rains, the area you are supporting has gotten really green again! Since November last year, clear progress has been made towards the goal of restoring at least 8 million trees in the programme. The program as a whole has already achieved 54.4% of this target! In total, 4,353,589 trees have been restored and over 44,244 meters of Fanya Juu trenches have been dug (February 2024). 

Weather conditions

Fortunately, the weather during the overall reporting period has been favourable. The rains received were higher than average as compared to the past three years, which certainly enabled the trees to grow. The last six months were a particularly fruitful period for cluster B of the Regreening Singida Programme. Here is a convenient overview of our activities to get you up to speed on the progress we’ve made here!

Over 1,1 million trees restored

As all of our projects are community-led, we continued to involve more and more households for a sustainable regreening of the area. We were able to train 27,566 households here. One of the most important ways in which we reach, inspire and educate farmers in our project areas are movie roadshows. We reached people from all 76 villages that are involved in the programme with these festive and educative events. The turnout was impressive, with an average of 503 farmers participating in each roadshow. The amount of trees brought back by these households in Cluster B totals up to 805,556! Apart from individual households, we have visited 419 institutions and 81 village forest reserves. In total, institutions and village forest reserves have brought back 330,317 trees.  These efforts have thus not been in vain, because all combined 1,135,873 trees were restored through Treecovery. 

Other highlights from the field

To get fully up to speed with all the developments in this cluster, here is a quick overview of other highlights from last quarter:

• We organised two community mobilisation events in Kijota and Ntonge villages. The participants included 8 teachers, 2 ward community development officers, 10 parents, and 24 students. These events featured engaging question-and-answer sessions on Treecovery and Rainwater Harvesting, which led to a fruitful exchange of ideas and experiences among participants. 
• The activation of community members in rainwater harvesting techniques has remained relatively consistent compared to the previous quarter, with farming activities progressing. Currently, 260 households have implemented Fanya Juu/Chini trenches, and most farmers who began digging in the previous quarter have continued, resulting in an increase in trench length to a total of 25,806 meters. This is a 1,200 meters increase from the last quarter.
• At the district level, the Singida District Commissioner and the Programme District Coordinators held a meeting with the District Environmental Officer and Education Officers for primary and secondary education. The aim was to explore the integration of Treecovery into their programs, showing positive progress in aligning our initiatives with theirs.