By Faridat Salifu
More than 550,000 smallholder farmers in Tanzania are set to benefit from a Partial Credit Guarantee scheme designed to improve access to fertiliser and enhance food production.
The $2 million (about 4.9bn/-) initiative aims to de-risk fertiliser distribution by improving availability, affordability, and financing along the supply chain.
Deputy Permanent Secretary for Food Security in the Ministry of Agriculture, Stephen Nindi, said in Dodoma that the government will work with the private sector to reach farmers in remote areas through inclusive financing mechanisms.
He said the scheme will also educate farmers on proper fertiliser use while enabling distributors to access credit to keep supplies steady.
The programme is jointly implemented by the Africa Fertiliser Financing Mechanism, the Tanzania Fertiliser Regulatory Authority, and the African Fertiliser and Agribusiness Partnership.
TFRA Director General Joel Laurent said the scheme builds on a 2019–2022 fertiliser credit pilot, now refocused on smallholders to improve food security and production efficiency.
Laurent said the project aligns with the Nairobi Declaration adopted at the 2024 Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit, which targets tripling access to quality fertiliser across Africa within 10 years.
The initiative is part of Tanzania’s agricultural modernisation strategy, which seeks to secure industrial raw materials for agro-processing and achieve 10 per cent annual growth in agriculture through mechanisation and digital tools.
The credit guarantee mechanism is hosted by the African Development Bank and implemented in Tanzania through AFAP.
