Developing Country Studies www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-607X (Paper) ISSN 2225-0565 (Online) Vol.5, No.9, 2015 18 Cereal Banks or Seed Banks? An Experience from Makoja Arid Village, Dodoma, Tanzania Mark M Msaki Senior Lecturer, Department of Rural Development and Regional Planning, The Institute of Rural Development Planning Dodoma, Box 138, Tanzania Irene Regnard Lecturer, Department of Environment Planning and Management, The Institute of Rural Development Planning Dodoma, Box 138, Tanzania Michael I Mwenda Department of Development Finance and Investment Planning, Rural Development and Regional Planning, The Institute of Rural Development Planning Dodoma, Box 138, Tanzania Abstract Cereal Banks, though important, have failed to become sustainable. The banks have always been requiring close monitoring support or subsidies from an outside agency, but collapse when outside monitoring and subsidies end. Such trend has brought worries and made Cereal Banks labeled negative. Failing to become self-sustaining has called for an inventory to analyze the Cereal Bank benefits realized by the communities. In 2012, a cross section study was done involving 80 households in Makoja Village, Dodoma Region. Makoja Village communities are poor, living in arid land and are chronically food insecure. Surprisingly, significant proportion (89 %) of the respondents acknowledges the Community Cereal Bank as the source of seeds to next season. Poor Makoja Community views the Cereal Bank as the Seed Bank to ensure availability of seeds hence food availability. Cereal banks are essentially not failed attempts but rather require continuing support to ensure production and food security of engaged community. The international development community should explore various outputs realised as benefits by engaged communties before terming them unsuccessful. However, there is a need to increase a pace to promote Community Seed Production Systems to assure improved crop production and household food security. Keywords: Cereal Bank, Seed Bank, Food Insecurity 1.Introduction Primarily, cereal banks are meant to prevent farmers from over-selling at low prices buying back at high prices, to avoid exploitation by middlemen and help surplus producing farmers to find a better market for their grain (Mukwana 2003). Cereal Banks were established in the Sahel region due to the droughts of the early 1980s, and are increasingly important way to increase food aid impact (Berg and Kent, 1991). In Tanzania, Non- Government Organizations supported the Government to establish Cereal Banks in Dodoma Region and Morogoro Region in Tanzania during 2003 (Lay Volunteers International Association, 2010; Berg and Kent, 1991). Among the beneficiaries of the program executed in Dodoma region, is Chamwino District Council, of which many villages are food unsecured due to unfriendly climatic (arid) factors (Lay Volunteers International Association, 2010). Cereal Banks however, have proved institutionally unsustainable, tending to progressively de capitalize and disappear once outside support is removed. In 2009, WFP and Care established exclusively women-operated cereal banks to help ensure the availability of grain supplies year round, helping protect against market speculation, and enabling even the poorest women to purchase food for their families during times of scarcity. The women are expected to repay the loans, but at very low interest rates and only after they have harvested their own crops (Alyward, 2013). Though challenged basing on sustainability, cereal banks play their role as community-led grain distribution projects that store grain after harvests, and then loan grain when food is scarce during what is known as the ‘lean season.’ (Aylward, 2013). Draught and famines alomg the Sahel region affecting more that 18 million people have pushed organizations such as the World Food Program (WFP) and Care to joining forces in creating all-women- managed cereal banks in villages throughout the Sahel that not only help protect against seasonal famine, but also empower women as agents of food security in their communities. The droughts of the early 1980s witnessed the increment of NGOs and a lot of food aid to the region embrassing the concept of Cereal Banks as it appealed to both providers of food aid, governments and villagers as seemed to increase the food aid impact. Due to their nature of operations, community cereal banks are facing various sustainability challenges and rarely continue working. While Cereal Banks are meant to serve populations vulnerable to food shortages, they are required to sustain (CRS, 1998). Community Cereal Bank in Makoja village, Dodoma Region was revived during 2009 by the support of INADES FORMATION TANZANIA (GIZ PROJECT), to capacitate