The Agri-Business Sector in Tanzania 2021

The Agri-business Sector in Tanzania

Tanzania’s economy is heavily dependent on agriculture. The country’s produces maize, cassava, rice, potatoes, beans, sweet potatoes, sorghum and bananas, and its main cash crops are coffee, cotton, sugar cane, tea, cashew nuts, tobacco, sesame seed, flowers and sunflower seed. The agri-business sector faces challenges including the limited use of fertilisers, pesticides and improved seeds, limited use of mechanisation and a reliance on natural rainfall. Other influencing factors are inadequate storage facilities, poor or non-existent transport infrastructure, weak value chains and limited affordable financial services.

Major Crops

As the most widely-produced and most important food crop in Tanzania, maize is regarded as a strategic crop, and is a priority in the government’s food security strategy. Over 80% of maize output is produced by smallholders under rain-fed conditions. Cassava, a root vegetable, is the second most important food crop, which is drought-tolerant and can be left underground for an extended period.

Poor Outcomes

Tanzania’s agri-business sector shows great potential as it has an abundance of land and water resources and a favourable climate. But crop yields are low and affected by inadequate storage facilities, poor or non-existent transport infrastructure, weak value chains and limited affordable financial services, as farmers do not own their land and cannot use their farms as collateral. Challenges faced by processors of agricultural products include multiple taxes, unnecessary bureaucracy and poor transport infrastructure.

Report Coverage

This report focuses on the agri-business sector in Tanzania and includes information on its various agricultural products, production and trade, major players, corporate actions, developments and regulations. There are profiles of 22 companies including Kilombero Sugar Company, the largest sugar producer in the country, commercial avocado producer Africado and tea producers such as Mohammed Enterprise and Unilever Tea. Other profiles include Said Salim Bakhresa & Company, which owns wheat, maize and rice mills and coffee companies such as Burka Coffee Estates and Tanganyika Instant Coffee.