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L
ike much of Africa, tanzania's agricultural sector
consists largely of small-scale farmers who are
vulnerable to the continent's increasingly unpredictable
weather patterns. the tanzanian
government in 2010 launched
the southern Agricultural Growth
corridor of tanzania (sAGcot),
a public­private partnership
aimed at intensifying agricultural
production and development
in southern tanzania, a region
rich with agricultural potential
and where the majority of the
population is currently engaged
in subsistence agriculture.
Rich in biodiversity
southern tanzania, however, also contains large,
ecologically intact areas that are rich in biodiversity.
the area boasts three significant conservation
landscapes--the greater selous reserve, and ruaha
and Katavi national parks--each larger than the
country of Wales and abutted by community-owned
wildlife management areas. these landscapes host
Africa's second-largest population of elephants, over
half of tanzania's lions, the world's second- and third-
largest wild dog populations, and 23 international
Bird Areas. it is also home to
tanzania's largest river system, the
rifiji, identified as an important
center for freshwater biodiversity.
All of which explains why AWF has
a seat at the sAGcot table. AWF
hopes to play a role in ensuring
that the tanzanian government can
successfully enhance food security
and reduce poverty for its people
while simultaneously conserving
the critical protected areas and
reserves, wildlife corridors, and intact ecosystems that
underpin economic growth and livelihoods in tanzania.
"With good planning and zoning, sAGcot could
become a globally significant example of increasing
agricultural productivity and household incomes,
while simultaneously conserving biodiversity,
wildlife, and ecological integrity at scale," explained
Andrea Athanas, AWF senior program design officer
for east Africa.
Agricultural Corridor
or Wildlife Corridor?
These landscapes
host Africa's
second-largest
population
of elephants
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