Salome rushes to the group with three cassava plants over her head. Several cassava roots, wrapped in red earth, are dangling in front of her sweaty forehead. She drops the cassava on the ground, brushes off the earth, and starts to peel the skin with her teeth. The other ladies all burst into laughter—a day’s hard work on the farm has finally come to an end.

Salome is part of a women’s group called Tushirikiane (“Help Each Other”), in Kanazi Village. Kanazi is located in the Kigoma region of Tanzania, one of the country’s poorest regions and the region that hosts 98 percent of the refugees in Tanzania. Here, almost every family depends on agriculture.

“The benefit of being in a farmers’ group is that we can help and support each other. If one of us has low yield that year, we will help her by contributing some food, or checking what’s wrong with her land and crops, otherwise she could not probably feed her own family,” Salome said.

Access to financial services, information and markets are the key challenges faced by farmers. As a second avenue for access finance, the group also saves together, contributing 1,000-5,000 TZS/week per person. Members can also borrow loans from the collective savings. It’s the only place where they can save their money, and borrow loans as individuals.

The proliferation of savings groups has been a key driver of financial inclusion in Tanzania, particularly for women. For farmers like Salome, the group plays an important role in their life—they are able to implement good agricultural practices to increase the yields, and access finance to improve their livelihood.

As a registered farmers’ group, Tushirikiane is eligible for loans from the local government. The group received two loans, totaling in 2.2 million TSH (~$960 USD), with which they bought maize, intending to resell it at a higher price. However, the price dropped sharply, and consequently, the group struggled to pay back the loans on time.

Despite being able to bounce back and eventually repay their loans, the group still struggles— members are rarely exposed to new knowledge and practices on money management and finance.

“We wish we could have known better how to manage the loans so that we would not fail,” says Salome.

To help Salome and members of other farmers’ groups in the region, UNCDF is piloting a programme to expand access to finance for women smallholder farmers. Active and strong farmers’ groups emerge to be instrumental in bridging the financial gaps in a sustainable manner, benefiting the whole agriculture value chain.

UNCDF is now working towards that end, supporting partners that are introducing digital finance and strengthening the farmers’ groups, so that the smallholder farmers can reach their potential with improved financial capability and business skills. By providing the groups with the training and mechanism to better manage their money, UNCDF aims to improve the lives of smallholder farmers, ensuring that vulnerable women, like Salome don’t repeat their same mistakes.

“It will soon be the harvest season for cassava and beans. We are now discussing how we can make use of the profit—whether to save or buy agriculture inputs. We know we will make the right choice this time,” Salome took a bite of the cassava root and joined the other ladies walking towards home.