CARTER COLEMAN
Agrica Limited, United Kingdom
Kilombero Plantations Limited (KPL) is a greenfield 5,000ha commercial farm that broke ground in 2008. The smallholder project started the following year and has now trained 7,403 neighbouring rice farmer families, transforming their yields and their yield potential. Both the commercial farm and smallholder project face large challenges. Both have suffered from a volatile market stemming from government policy decisions and bad governance. Both must cope with the absence of basic infrastructure and the underdevelopment of site-specific agronomic knowledge and inputs. Access to credit, a critical component in maintaining high productivity and rising out of poverty, is particular smallholder obstacle. KPL's short history illustrates successes and the long path of a work still in progress.
Keywords: Commercial farm, smallholders