What’s Going On with Our Grantees

The Lawyers’ Environmental Action Team (LEAT) is a public interest environmental organization, based in Tanzania. Its purpose is to foster sound natural resources management and environmental protection.

LEAT received a grant through our Agriculture Advocacy Project which seeks to build a more robust advocacy movement for sustainable and equitable agricultural development in Africa. It encourages civil society to make use of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) to hold governments more accountable to their constituents working in agriculture. In August 2011, LEAT received a $30,000 grant to develop a campaign to increase the budget for the agriculture sector in Tanzania, in order to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Specifically, the campaign is for a 10% increase in the National Budget for agriculture in the years 2012-2013.

In light of its objectives, LEAT produced a number of advocacy materials.

he first, written in Swahili, can be translated as “A Critical Analysis on the Importance of Investing in the Agriculture Sector in Tanzania.” The booklet examines the importance of agriculture, unexploited opportunities found in the sector, major setbacks and how complying with the CAADP can improve the lives of small farmers.	The second, a brochure, can be translated as “LEAT and the Implementation of the Campaign for Agriculture Development in Tanzania.” The brochure introduces LEAT and the Agriculture Advocacy project to give constituents a better idea of funding and focus.	The third document is a leaflet entitled “Basic Information on the Process of National Budget Making.” The document explains the national budget so that it is more accessible to a general audience and helps farmers pinpoint when and how to engage themselves in the budget process to advocate for their priorities.
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