The Evaluation and Monitoring Committee of the Higher Education for Economic Transformation (HEET) Project from Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), in carrying out its duties, has visited the Ifinga Training Forest located in Madaba Municipal Council in Ruvuma Region as well as the Mizengo Pinda Campus located in Katavi Region.
The Committee, led by its Chairperson Dr. Emmanuel Mallisa and members Jumanne Habibu and Tryphone Ngoja, began its visit in the Ifinga Forest, which covers an area of 10,000 hectares. The committee reached areas where trees have been planted, totaling 1,200 hectares, and also visited the seedling nursery and the area where a fire detection tower is being constructed.
Dr. Mallisa stated that the committee’s role is to monitor, evaluate, and collect various information, process it, and write a report that will be presented in various university meetings, and then submitted to the Ministry.
The Chairperson said the committee has learned various things, including how SUA owns the 10,000-hectare Ifinga Training Forest established in 2018, where 1,200 hectares have already been planted with trees, and the HEET project has contributed to the activities in this forest.
The committee not only evaluated the implementation of this training forest project, but also learned how the university owns a large forest where 1,200 hectares have already been planted with trees, and the HEET Project has also contributed to the development activities in that area, said Dr. Mallisa.
Dr. Mallisa added that this forest existed before the HEET Project came, under the Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism Division, but the arrival of the HEET Project has strengthened the development of the forest. In the 2023/24 season, the contribution of this project has started to be seen, with an increase of 312 hectares, compared to last year’s increase of 34 hectares, which is about 12%.
He added that in the nursery, there are already 155,000 seedlings, which when planted in the field will be enough to cover an area of 140 hectares, and adding the 34 hectares planted, it will make a total contribution of 63% by the HEET Project in this forest.
Dr. Mallisa said the initial target was to plant 500 hectares, but so far 312 hectares have been planted, and the planting rate has not been satisfactory, so his committee will try to identify the challenges and find ways to improve the process so that the exercise can continue well.
Dr. Mallisa cited reasons for the lower than expected tree planting of only 312 hectares instead of the 500 hectare target for the year. These include delays in receiving funds, which led to late sowing of seedlings in October instead of July as recommended, preventing them from reaching the 500 hectare goal.
Another impact of the funding delays is that casual laborers have not been paid on time for their work in the forest. The committee will advise the HEET project and university to improve the financial management to resolve this challenge.
During the visit to Mizengo Pinda Campus in Katavi Region, the committee met with staff to assess their understanding and participation in the HEET project. Staff awareness is high, including on gender issues, and there is already a Gender Desk established.
However, student understanding of the project remains a challenge. The committee plans to meet with students to explain how the project will improve campus infrastructure and other areas it will support. The images below show various activities in the Ifinga Training Forest and Mizengo Pinda Campus.
