Food Security:

The aggregate national food availability in Tanzania is not of plenty, but that of a critical balance between production and needs.  

The development of agriculture has been an important objective of the Government.  The focus has been producing more food to enhance food security and alleviate poverty, with the ultimate goal of becoming self-sufficient in basic food requirements.  

The government is determined to improve transportation system and ensure people’s purchasing power is increased for food accessibility.  

Over the years food production in the country has failed to meet demand and the country has been importing food and receiving food aid to meet its production shortfalls.

The government has deregulated markets and prices.  With the Food Security Act of 1991 functions related to food crops has been transferred to Food Security Department (FSD) under MAFS.  The private sector is being supported to undertake production, input supply and crop market functions.  The Government uses the following strategies:

  • Improvement in agricultural production incentives by promoting non-traditional export crops and food crops through liberalization of the whole process.

  • Supporting research and extension and improving its effectiveness, promotion of private sector participation in production, processing storage input supply and marketing.

  • Improving rural infrastructure.

  • Promotion of cross – boarder trade with neighbouring countries and export.

  • Improvement in post – harvest loss.

  • Periodic monitoring and assessment of rural food situation on a more systematic basis through Early Warming and Crop Monitoring System.

  • Reviewing the legislation that affects private sector participation in the agriculture sector in farming and marketing.

  • Removing restrictions on trade at national regional and district levels, and reviewing the tax regime on food movement across districts, regions or national borders.

  • Restructuring Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) to be able to operate efficiently and effectively.  

Private Sector is participating in purchasing food crops from farmers as well as importing food.  The private companies involved include:

o       Mohamed Enterprises

o       EECO Traders

o       Mbutano Investment

o       Andre & CIESA

o       Sky Coach  

NB:    Details on food crop production, cash crop production and purchases and exports, refer to Economic Survey  - Tanzania online: www.tzonline.org

Agricultural Marketing:

Tanzania still relies on traditional export markets to over 50 percent of export revenue.  Tanzania faces problems of price fluctuations in the World Market for its exports and general deterioration in terms of trade of the agriculture sector.  Export strategy has been adopted with the aim of diversifying the export volume while ensuring quality and value added through processing.  The market of both agricultural and livestock commodities and Inputs have been liberalized.  Private companies and cooperatives participate at different degrees. 

The response from the private sector to opportunities offered by the liberalization and privatization has been strong.  The shares of the private sector in the various crop markets have grown increasingly larger.  Trade in food crop is presently entirely private, except the trading operations of the Strategic Grain Reserve.  More than 95 percent of the milling of grain is now in private hands, while the market share the National Milling Corporation (NMC) has dropped to less than 5 percent.

  • Government role is confined to provision of market information and monitoring performance; that is facilitation and regulation of the Market.

  • The private sector is taking the leading role in input delivery and purchasing the agricultural produce.

  • Crop Boards are being restructured to resume regulatory functions leaving commercial activities to the Cooperative Unions and the private sector.

  • Currently the market is performing very poorly due to a lack of strong regulatory mechanism, poor rural infrastructure; (rural roads, markets, processing and storage facilities) and organization in the local marketing.  

The Government is taking the following measures to improve the market access and performance improving market integration, both nationally regionally and internationally by improving transport infrastructure, rural roads/feeder roads in particular:

  • Improving the collection and dissemination of market information so as to reach farmers and traders timely;

  • Removal of artificial restrictions to trade such as movement control and excessive levies.

  • Rehabilitation or establishment of physical marketing facilities and proper storage for both farmers and traders to exchange and increase competitiveness.

  • Researching into appropriate on and off – farm storage technologies to increase returns to both farmers and traders.

  • Improving processing technologies both on and off-farm to increase value added and overall food availability.

  • Promoting the formation and strengthening of cooperative societies for them to be able to compete in the market.

Private Sector Organisations

A number of private sector organizations have been established, operates at commodity level in purchasing farmers produce both food and cash crops as well as delivering inputs to farmers.  These include:  

  • The Tanzania Coffee Associations established in 1996.

  • Tanzania Coffee Growers Association established in 1945

  • Tanzania Cotton Association established in 1998

  • Cashew Association of Tanzania established in 1995

  • The Tea Association of Tanzania established in 1943

  • The Sisal Association of Tanzania established in 1985

  • The Tanzania Flower Growers Association established in 1997  

There are general private sector organizations, which represent all private business and to forge a cohesive approach to the dialogue with the Government on private sector development.  

These are the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCC/A), The Confederation of Tanzanian Industries (CTI) and the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) and the Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC).\