The Laudes Foundation’s ‘Organic Cotton Project’, launched in 2017, has evolved into the multi-stakeholder initiative known as the “Regenerative Production Landscape Tanzania”. Diverse stakeholders are collaborating with the goal of establishing a resilient agricultural production system that safeguards and restores natural resources and biodiversity in Tanzania.

The partnership, stemming from the commitment of the Laudes Foundation, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Helvetas Tanzania, currently engages more than 60,000 certified organic smallholder farmers. They are collectively organised in village committees, collaborating with district authorities, organic cotton ginners like Alliance and BioSustain, as well as other private sector actors and civil society organisations. Anita Chester from the Laudes Foundation enthusiastically welcomes the evolution of the original project into a multi-stakeholder approach, emphasizing its benefits: ‘This latest investment is towards an innovative multi-stakeholder governance model to empower producers, engage communities, and enlist public and private sector players to create sustainable business opportunities for the region.’

The partnership is focussing its efforts mainly on the Singida and Simiyu regions, both severely impacted by climate change. Additionally, deforestation, erosion, and unsustainable landscape use have further degraded the local ecosystem, resulting in the loss of livelihoods for many residents. GIZ Programme Director Hendrik Buermann emphasises the holistic approach of the multi-stakeholder initiative, aiming to address these challenges: ‘Today, as these regions face serious challenges due to climate change and ecosystem degradation, severely impacting both livelihoods and the local economy, the answer lies in a holistic, place-based approach that goes beyond the farm-level and a single commodity focus, to one that tackles all issues impacting agricultural value chains including deforestation, overgrazing, misuse of water (re)sources, soil erosion, and loss of biodiversity.’

For more information on the content of this partnership project, click here.