05 September 2012, Chamwino, Tanzania - Input trade fair hosted by the Chamwino District council and facilitated by FAO. For the first time 400 farmers from 5 villages were granted trade vouchers by FAO that enabled them to purchase the quality declared seeds and farm equipment from the agro dealers at the trade fair. A series of droughts in central Tanzania has challenged the food security of rural farmers and reduced the availability of quality seeds and crop varieties, increasing the level of poverty in the region. In response, The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched the Disaster Response and Preparedness to Drought project, funded by DFID, to provide the basic stock of quality declared seeds and support the farmers groups. By using seed-based response mechanisms and good agricultural practices, FAO and DFID are enhancing the capacity of farming communities to prepare for and respond to climate variability. FAO Project: OSRO/URT/001/UK - Emergency supply of maize seeds to drought-affected farmers in Tanzania /(New phase) Disaster Response and Preparedness to Drought. - 2012. Objectives: The general objective of this project is to provide emergency seed support to farming families in 34 districts affected by drought in order to avert food insecurity and possible starvation. The specific objective of this project is to distribute a total of 1 592 tonnes of seed to 159 200 food insecure households to cover an estimated 64 427 hectares of land with an expected yield of 96 640 tonnes of maize.