Tanzania passes the Pyrethrum Industry Repeal Bill, hands Pyrethrum Board’s works to COPRA

DODOMA: TANZANIA’S Parliament has passed the Pyrethrum Industry Repeal Bill, 2026, which seeks to repeal the Pyrethrum Industry Act No. 1 of 1997 and transfer the functions of the Pyrethrum Board to the Cereals and Other Produce Regulatory Authority (COPRA).

The Bill was tabled in Parliament today, August 28, 2026, by Minister for Agriculture Daniel Godfrey Chongolo, who said the move is aimed at reducing government operating costs by merging institutions with overlapping responsibilities.

Chongolo said abolishing the Pyrethrum Board would help reduce the number of regulatory institutions, strengthen coordination, improve efficiency and ensure more productive use of public resources in the agricultural sector.

He said under the transitional provisions of the Bill, the functions, assets, liabilities and employees of the Pyrethrum Board would be transferred to COPRA.

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The move follows an assessment of the Bill by Parliament’s Standing Committee on Industries, Trade, Agriculture and Livestock, which supported the abolition of the Board but advised the Government to establish an independent directorate within COPRA to oversee pyrethrum production, quality, marketing and the crop’s value chain.

The committee said pyrethrum is a strategic crop for Tanzania, noting that the country is among the world’s leading producers. It therefore recommended that the crop receive dedicated oversight even after its regulatory functions are transferred to COPRA.