FYDP III records major gains in agricultural exports

DODOMA: TANZANIA is set to officially embark on implementation of the Tanzania Development Vision 2050 (Dira 2050), on July 1st this year, with agriculture identified as one of the key transformative sectors expected to drive the country’s socio-economic development over the next 25 years.

The sector was selected based on its strong employment multiplier effect, export potential, linkages with other sectors, value-addition opportunities and contribution to government revenue. As the country prepares to implement the new vision, attention is turning to achievements recorded under the outgoing Third Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP III) 2021/22–2025/26, particularly in agriculture.

The primary objective of FYDP III was to advance the goals of the Tanzania Development Vision 2025 by enabling the country to sustain middle-income status and continue transforming into a competitive industrial economy with improved living standards and high human development.

Under the vision, Tanzania aspires to maintain peace, stability and unity, strengthen good governance, build a knowledgeable and educated society and establish a resilient economy capable of competing globally while benefiting the majority of citizens.

Given agriculture’s central role in Tanzania’s industrialisation agenda and its importance as a source of livelihood for about 65 per cent of the population, FYDP III focused on consolidating previous achievements while expanding opportunities through Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA).

As part of these efforts, the government prioritised strengthening forward and backward linkages between agriculture and other sectors of the economy while creating an enabling environment for private sector participation in the production and export of agricultural products, including raw materials, semiprocessed and finished goods.

The government also intensified training and research programmes aimed at supporting farmers, youth, women and people with disabilities, while strengthening agricultural research and development to integrate value chains at both domestic and international levels.

Tanzania’s horticulture industry, which includes fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, herbs and horticultural seeds, has continued to expand across key production zones, including the Southern Highlands, Northern Zone, Coast Region, Morogoro and the Lake Zone.

By 2026, the horticulture subsector is projected to generate approximately 2 billion US dollars in (about 5.2tri/-) export earnings through medium- and large-scale investors, including those operating under out-grower schemes.

Presenting the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget estimates in the National Assembly recently that was later endorsed by the Members of Parliament, Minister for Agriculture Mr Daniel Chongolo said the sixth phase government has continued implementing FYDP III with a strong focus on transforming the agriculture sector.

He said the government has continued investing in strategic areas to empower farmers and position Tanzania as Africa’s food basket. To support these ambitions, the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget increased significantly from 294bn/- in 2021/2022 to 1.19tri/- in 2025/2026, reflecting the government’s growing recognition of agriculture as a key driver of economic growth and employment.

The ministry was allocated a budget of 1.105tri/- for the 2026/2027 fiscal year. The government has also introduced subsidised agricultural inputs through a digital distribution system reaching rural farmers, helping reduce production costs and improve incomes.

In addition, the sixth phase government launched the Building a Better Tomorrow (BBT) programme aimed at creating a new generation of commercially oriented young farmers by providing access to land, irrigation infrastructure, capital, technology and markets.

Alongside domestic reforms, the government intensified economic diplomacy efforts to expand market access for Tanzanian agricultural products in Asia, Europe, America and Africa.

As a result, the agriculture sector grew by 4.1 per cent in 2024 compared to 3.9 per cent in 2021, while its contribution to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood at 26.3 per cent in 2024. In 2025, Tanzania’s agriculture sector grew by 4.0 per cent and contributed 24.6 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Food crop production stood at 17.1 million tonnes in 2021/2022.

Production in the 2024/25 season reached 23.78 million tonnes, up 4.3 per cent from 22.8 million tonnes in 2023/24. This represents a 38.69 per cent increase and raising national food sufficiency from 126 per cent to 130 per cent.

Production of traditional cash crops rose from 973,436 tonnes in 2021/2022 to reach 1,599,945.66 tonnes in 2025/26, equivalent to 71.9 per cent of the season’s target and 10 per cent above the 1,451,694.11 tonnes recorded in 2024/25.

The ministry has set a target to raise traditional cash crop production to 2,118,000 tonnes in the 2026/27 agricultural year, up from 1,599,945.66 tonnes in 2025/26, an increase of 32.4 per cent. Cashew nuts led the cash crop output with 617,683.77 tonnes, followed by sugar at 410,979.04 tonnes, cotton at 222,014 tonnes, tobacco at 185,776 tonnes, coffee at 74,663.60 tonnes, sisal at 64,321.77 tonnes, tea at 11,631.48 tonnes, cocoa at 10,096 tonnes and pyrethrum at 2,780 tonnes.

Beyond traditional cash crops, the government is pushing avocado as a high-value export crop, targeting production of 235,000 tonnes in 2026/27, up from 201,354 tonnes in 2024/25, with exports projected to reach 40,000 tonnes.

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To support this target, the ministry plans to train 9,500 farmers and 500 extension officers in good agricultural practices, while the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) and the Tanzania Coffee and Avocado Research Institute (COPRA) will distribute 1,727,400 subsidised avocado seedlings, primarily targeting youth and women groups.

The ministry, through COPRA, will continue construction of 20 avocado collection centres across key producing regions, including eight in Mbeya, five in Njombe, four in Iringa, two in Ruvuma and one in Rukwa. The country currently hosts eight medium and large-scale avocado processing factories and the government plans to scale up avocado oil production with private sector partners.

Production of improved seeds increased from 30,167 tonnes in 2020/2021 to 54,750 tonnes in 2025/2026, while availability of improved seeds rose by 77.68 per cent during the same period. Horticultural crop production increased from 7.3 million tonnes in 2020/2021 to 9.78 million tonnes in 2024/2025, equivalent to a 33.9 per cent increase. Oilseed production also rose from 1.71 million tonnes to 2.24 million tonnes over the same period, reflecting a 31.22 per cent increase.

Domestic fertiliser production recorded substantial growth, increasing from 32,239 tonnes in 2020/2021 to 123,203 tonnes in 2025/2026, while fertiliser availability increased by 62.09 per cent. Storage capacity at the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) expanded from 251,000 tonnes in 2020/2021 to 776,000 tonnes in 2025/2026.

These achievements contributed to an increase in the value of agricultural exports from 2.1 billion US dollars in 2021/2022 to 3.73 billion US dollars in 2024/2025.

The government also continued implementing 780 irrigation projects across the country. Of these, 28 projects capable of irrigating 23,528 hectares have been completed, while 118 projects covering 232,658 hectares are under implementation.

In addition, feasibility studies and detailed designs for 189 irrigation projects have been completed, while another 445 projects are at various stages of preparation. In the cooperative sector, registration of cooperative societies through the Cooperative Management System (MUVU) increased from 4,661 societies in 2022/2023 to 6,545 societies in 2025/2026.

Among these are 4,685 Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies (AMCOS) and 1,182 Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOS).

Sales of agricultural produce through AMCOS increased from 1.696tri/- in 2021/2022 to 3.74tri/- in 2025/2026, while SACCOS assets rose from 836.74bn/- to 1.46tri/- during the same period.

According to Minister Chongolo, the agriculture sector continued to play a critical role in ensuring food security, employment creation, supply of industrial raw materials and contribution to GDP. Between January and September 2025, Tanzania’s real GDP grew by an average of 6 per cent compared to 5.5 per cent during the corresponding period in 2024.

During the same period, agriculture recorded a growth rate of 4 per cent and remained the largest contributor to GDP at 24.6 per cent. According to the Bank of Tanzania Statistical Bulletin for the quarter ending March 2026, Tanzania’s export performance remained strong, supported by increased earnings from gold, tourism and traditional exports, particularly coffee and tobacco.

Foreign exchange reserves stood at 6.084 billion US dollars by the end of March 2026, sufficient to cover 4.7 months of projected imports of goods and services, in line with both national and East African Community reserve adequacy benchmarks.