By Geoff Dale

With a lifetime spent exploring and expanding upon the possibilities in both the agricultural and agribusiness sectors, Don Hilborn was eager for another challenge and this one lay waiting for him beyond the Canadian borders in faraway Tanzania. In January the Oxford County resident set off for the eastern African country within the African Great Lakes region, where he would volunteer with the UNITERRA/WUSC (World University Science of Canada) Program for three months. An international volunteer cooperation program, UNITERRA, managed by WUSC and the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI), assists Canadians enthusiastic about making a direct and positive impact on people’s lives in developing countries. Since 2004 more than 3,000 Canadians have been sent to 14 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia in continuous efforts to reduce poverty and create opportunities for women and youth around the world. “The idea for me actually started two years ago,” he said. “Through Farm Radio Canada I took a two-week tour of Tanzania. Following that very informative visit, the process began online as I looked through the WUSC website, learning what resources and personal skills were required. “I was raised and worked on our family dairy farm, was employed by OMAFRA (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) for 37 years and since 1985 my wife Sue and I have owned and operated Red Barn Berries. I felt confident my skills and experience meshed with their needs.” Some rudimentary yet startling facts with respect to the plight of developing countries provided him an even more compelling argument to participate in the unique volunteer project: • Today 73.4 million youth between the ages of 15 - 24 are unemployed. • In developing countries, young women face particularly bleak economic futures. • In these countries, women are more likely to be engaged in unpaid care work, toil in informal economies and in vulnerable employment. Using his engineering, extension and farming skills to volunteer with Soloine Agricultural University, Hilborn’s goal was to work with an agribusiness partner to introduce the broad use of drip irrigation systems for better and more consistent crops from small-scale horticultural operations. “I knew from the onset there were many differences,” he said. “For example, tilling on acres of land is done by hand. Equipment is hard to maintain. Corn, with the exception of one field, is manually planted. For every acre of corn grown in Oxford County, you need to grow more than nine acres in Tanzania to get the same yield. “My reception was gratifying. People were eager to learn and familiarize themselves with new ideas. I met, talked with and worked with many who became, not just my working colleagues, but my friends. I travelled to Morogoro (one of his home stations) and to the country’s largest city Dar es Salaam. A great deal of focus is on Tanzania’s youth, as they provide the hope for a bright future.” With so much to see, consume and comment on, from day one he began regular as clockwork Facebook posts under the title Don Hilborn Tanzania Adventure. The subject matter is timely, thought-provoking, wide-ranging and pertinent to both the author and reader. Some projects and observations: • SUGECO (Soloine University Graduates Entrepreneurs Cooperative) has 1,000 acres of undeveloped land available for youth to start family operations. • The work of nutritionist Jolenta with the orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is innovative. • Only 0.2 per cent of the 2.4-million livestock farms in Tanzania have biogas plants so SUGECO aims to become a training centre for this technology. • Around Morogoro, primary cultivation is by hoe or disk plow and there is very little herbicide used. • Hilborn worked with John, a SUGECO innovator on his fish/lettuce system called Aquaponics. • A hot dehydration greenhouse is the opposite to Canadian systems. “About 70 per cent of Tanzania’s population lives in rural areas but youth are migrating to the cities,” Hilborn said. “The government wants to encourage them to work in agriculture so there is a general large scale push on that through all sectors. “As a result, there is a move to make agricultural sectors more viable so it in turn becomes more attractive to young people. Focusing on positive aspects of a changing industry like improved technology and the growth in greenhouses, the goal is to showcase the work not just as a means of sustenance but as a thriving sector that produces high quality crops with innovative, interesting and financially appealing careers for the youth.” In addition to passing along his knowledge on a daily basis to a receptive group, he pointed to a variety of positives during his three-month stay, including the development of strong personal relationships and numerous opportunities to see the benefits of the cooperative approach in commodities like goats, chickens, horticulture, bananas, bread and sweet potatoes. “I also had the opportunity to give a short course on solar food dehydrators to Peace Corps volunteers, which is a new topic for me,” he said. “Abdulla, a SUGECO engineer, fixed up the small drier. The air is heated under the plastic panel then goes through the fruit in the box area for drying. “One of my most recent ideas while there was for the development of a master plan to include drainage, water storage and water irrigation, which may be linked to the drainage system. Soil tilth can be maintained or improved through manure and fertilizer management, use of cover crops and good farming practices, like no residue burning.” Praising the united efforts of the government and local councils to attract young people to industry, he said success on that front would mean another bonus for agriculture alongside the country’s inexpensive land and good climate. “Tanzania is a very good place to work,” he said. “The dynamics are there; people are hard-working and appreciative and the government offers career incentives to get involved in agriculture. Volunteering there for me was both rewarding and a real eye-opener. I learned a great deal. “If I returned, because of family commitments, it would likely be for a shorter time. However, with new contacts I’ve made, there has been quite a lot of e-mailing since I returned. There have been some nibbles so interest in participating in this fascinating project is out there and that is a very positive sign.” ◊ T