"There is no culture like agriculture." That is the slogan that managing and founding director Dickson Alex uses at AGL Farms, a company he built by himself from scratch, and has now seen him reap significant rewards.
"I started with just a 30 square meter plot of land," says 27-year-old Dickson. "I was alone working on my farm from morning to evening while still thinking big. It took time, but I now have 49 acres of land. It's quite big," he explains.
From the city to the country
Dickson was 20 when he decided to embark on a career in agriculture. It had never occurred to him to visit or work on a farm prior to that point. His parents are businesspeople and have no association with farm life. In Dickson's case, moving from the city to the country took a great deal of courage. "As a young farmer, you have to sacrifice a lot. To forgo a town life as a young person, to come and live in a village like this, is a big challenge," Dickson tells SCENES.
The sacrifice paid off for Dickson. He won a massive contract with Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Power Station to supply fresh vegetables to over 3,000 workers. This initiative is one of Tanzania's largest government-run strategic projects, and it's right on the doorstep of AGL Farms. Hamis Nyembenyembe, AGL Farm's Agronomist, says the business has come a long way since its inception. "At first, it was difficult. When I decided to come here, there was a bush, but there was no farm here. Nowadays, people pass here, and they see there is change."
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