Agriculture in Tanzania is the backbone of the nation’s economy. Government reports show that the sector employs over 65 per cent of Tanzanians and contributes 27 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
This is substantiated across borders as Tanzania anticipates constructing giant grain storage facilities and distribution centres across East Africa. This scenario signals that the sector’s surplus which is gaining traction across markets serves to firm up Tanzania’s ambition to expand its grain exportation.
Today Tanzania’s farming aspirations have never been sharper. This year, the government has made a statement about the need to make agriculture a new economic horizon via the newly launched agriculture plan to transform the sector completely.
This commitment shows how serious Tanzania is in making an industry statement. The current government is making investment and industrialization a priority. The President, Samia Suluhu Hassan, has outlined her plan to transform the agriculture sector.
Tanzania farmlands are known best for producing both cash and food crops consumed locally and for the export market. Tanzanian farmers grow maize, sorghum, rice, cotton, cashew nuts, tobacco, tea and sisal, to mention a few.
Regarding comprehending the trend of producing demanded grains, Tanzania is at a very competitive stance which stands to garner billions in revenue. Tanzania is the biggest rice producer in East Africa. This situation has prompted Tanzania to ramp up its ambition for exporting rice across local markets (ITA).
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To understand Tanzania’s ambition to expand its agro-products exportation across the region, the current plans and strategies instituted by the government play an important role.
In April, Tanzania made a bold statement to the world when President Samia led the nation to witness the launch of the “Ajenda 10/30”, an agro-commercial strategy that aims to attain an impressive 10 per cent annual growth rate for the sector – that is the livelihood for some 65 per cent of Tanzanians (The Citizen).
Further, the government has taken another step toward realizing its agro-commercial ambition by domesticating its Agriculture Sector Development Programme II.
Over the past years, Tanzania has made deliberate efforts to improve crops, livestock and fisheries development in terms of productivity, commercialization and boost income generation for farmers.
Over the past decades, the ministry of agriculture has been determined to promote better agricultural practices that spark more yields.
Earlier this year, the President urged financial institutions to promote agro-lending by cutting down double-digit lending rates. Hence, as a positive response to the call, one of Tanzania’s leading banks, CRDB, is already changing the interest rate to nine per cent.
The Ministry of Agriculture is establishing a revolving fund for agricultural input and agricultural development. “At a time when prices for agricultural inputs shoot due to external shocks, the revolving fund will be coming in to cushion farmers,” President Samia said, suggesting that the fund will bear the price burden (The Citizen).
