Johnson Justin Simola, a smallholder maize farmer from Morogoro, has won a brand-new Isuzu D-Max pick-up, becoming the first grand prize winner in Bayer East Africa’s DEKALB Scratch and Win campaign, which promotes certified seed use to improve agricultural productivity and strengthen food security across Tanzania.
The four-month campaign combines farmer education on certified seed with an incentive programme offering prizes such as knapsack sprayers, smartphones, motorcycles and planters. Bayer said the initiative seeks to encourage farmers to check seed authenticity before planting while supporting the adoption of farming practices that improve productivity.
“The Bayer campaign is real. At first, I didn’t believe I was a winner, but once I saw the vehicle, my wife and I were just speechless,” Said Simola, expressing his satisfaction with his prize.
Simola said he participated after purchasing four packs of DEKALB maize seed, scratching the verification panel on the packaging and submitting the code to confirm authenticity through the Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI). He encouraged other farmers to participate by purchasing DEKALB maize seed and verifying the codes on their packs.
“I have always wanted to own a pickup, my dream has come true! This vehicle will help me reduce the cost of transporting my harvest from the farm to market and improve returns from my farming business.
Speaking at the ceremony, Bayer’s Managing Director Mwinyi Sango emphasised the importance of certified seed as farmers contend with climate change and unpredictable weather patterns.
“Today, we celebrate not only our first grand prize winner but also the commitment of our farmers to adopt practices that enhance their productivity. There is no food security in this country without smallholder farmers, and by encouraging the use of certified seeds, we can help them achieve better yields and contribute to the nation’s food security,” he said.
The campaign’s verification message complements Tanzania’s seed quality assurance system. TOSCI’s responsibilities include training and registering seed dealers, inspecting seed production fields, sampling and testing seed, and conducting post-harvest inspections. The institute also carries out verification trials to assess whether seed retains the characteristics and genetic purity of the variety it represents.
Bayer said the DEKALB maize hybrids promoted through the campaign have different traits suited to diverse agro-ecological zones, including areas receiving low rainfall and those with high agricultural potential. The farmer education component encourages growers to select varieties appropriate to their production environments.
Sango said the company’s objective was to help farmers achieve more reliable harvests under changing weather conditions. “Our ambition is to support successful crop production across the different environments in which our customers farm”. He reinforces
The campaign comes as climatic and economic pressures continue to affect food access in parts of Tanzania. An Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis published in April 2026 estimated that approximately one million people experienced Crisis-level acute food insecurity between February and May 2026 in 30 vulnerable rural districts across 11 regions of mainland Tanzania. The assessment covered approximately 10 million people, rather than the entire national population.
The assessment identified prolonged dry spells, flooding, persistently high staple food prices, declining household purchasing power and limited income opportunities among the main drivers. Households dependent on crop production, livestock and agricultural labour were particularly affected. Following the harvests, the number facing Crisis-level or worse conditions was projected to decline to approximately 507,000 between June 2026 and January 2027 in the assessed districts.
Alongside these food access challenges; the World Food Programme reports that approximately 30 per cent of children under five in Tanzania are stunted. It also identifies limited access to land, credit and other productive resources as constraints affecting women, who make up a substantial share of the agricultural workforce.
Bayer East Africa said it remained committed to providing farmers with quality seed and other agricultural solutions to support sustainable food production across the region.
The DEKALB Scratch and Win promotion ends on 30 November, with participating farmers continuing to receive prizes during the remaining weeks of the campaign.
