Literacy as Agricultural Development Strategy: The Tanzanian Experience

Authors

  • Philemon Mushi University of Dar es Salaam

Abstract

This study examines Tanzania's initiatives to use functional literacy programs as a vehicle for agricultural transformation. The functional literacy programs were introduced in four pilot regions in 1968, focusing on: reading, writing, numeracy, agriculture, nutrition, national ideology, fishing, and cattle raising. They were introduced to replace traditional literacy programs which had had only a disappointing impact on improving agricultural production. Following the pilot program, a national program was implemented in 1971 and continues to the present. Although the government hoped for significant changes in traditional farming practices, this has not happened due to a combination of factors including a lack of attention to the human and material resources needed, learners' motivations, and the local conditions under which the programs operate.

Résumé

Cette étude se penche sur une série d'initiatives d'alphabétisation fonctionnelle vouées au développement agricole en Tanzanie. Les projets, introduits dans quatre régions pilotes en 1968, avaient pour objet la lecture, l'écriture, le calcul, l'agriculture, l'alimentation, l'idéologie nationale, la pêche et l'élevage du bétail. Ces activités furent conçues pour succéder aux programmes conventionnels d'alphabétisation, dont l'impact sur les pratiques agricoles était jugé insuffisant. Suite au projet pilote, un programme national fut lancé en 1971 et subsiste à ce jour. Les attentes du gouvernement, anticipant des changements marqués dans les practiques agricoles traditionnelles, ne se concrétisèrent pas. Plusieurs facteurs peuvent être invoqués, dont le manque de ressources humaines et matérielles, lafaible motivation des apprenants, et des conditions locales peu favorables.

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Published

1994-11-01

How to Cite

Mushi, P. (1994). Literacy as Agricultural Development Strategy: The Tanzanian Experience. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, 8(2), 65–72. Retrieved from https://cjsae.library.dal.ca/cjsae/article/view/2119

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (1994)

Section

Perspectives

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