Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences graduate-turned-employee Russell Galanti, who pursued his master’s degree while working at the foot of Mauna Kea in Hilo, spent the summer at the foot of Tanzania’s equally formidable Mount Meru. As a Trellis Fund fellow, he co-led a program on improving child malnutrition rates through increased vegetable production with the use of sustainable agriculture practices.
The Arusha district in Tanzania has some of the highest malnutrition rates in the country, a problem that can be partially alleviated by increasing production of certain vegetables. Russell collaborated with Horti-Tengeru, a Tanzanian research and extension organization in the Arusha District of Tanzania. Farmers from Mlangarini and Nduruma villages participated in the program, which trained more than 60 farmers and a dozen farmer motivators. Demonstration and research plots were also established, and data will be collected for demonstration purposes and extension publications. This project was partially funded by UC Davis’s Horticulture Innovation Lab and USAID.