Tanzania moves to crush fake seed trade, strengthen quality control
DODOMA: THE Tanzanian government has unveiled a sweeping crackdown on the sale of substandard seeds, warning dishonest traders that the law will take its full course as Tanzania intensifies efforts to protect farmers and boost agricultural productivity.
Presenting the Agriculture Ministry’s budget estimates in the National Assembly today, April 28,2026, Minister for Agriculture Daniel Chongolo said the sale of poor-quality seeds is “a direct act of sabotage against farmers,” stressing that the government will not tolerate the malpractice.
To counter the challenge, the ministry will, in 2026/27, conduct practical demonstration training for farmers and seed distributors to help them distinguish between genuine certified seeds and inferior counterfeit varieties.
Mr Chongolo urged farmers to remain vigilant and ensure they buy seeds only from registered agents and carefully verify official quality-assurance labels on seed packages.
“I warn all dishonest traders selling fake seeds, the arm of the law will not spare you,” he declared.
To reinforce national seed quality control, the Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI) will acquire a modern label-printing machine to improve efficiency, enhance security features and ensure timely issuance of quality-assurance labels.
TOSCI will also procure land for new seed laboratories in Dodoma, Geita and Mbeya, alongside modern equipment for the National Seed Laboratory, including chemical and nutritional analysis tools, office facilities and six vehicles.
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Additionally, the Institute will install a new industrial system for printing seed-quality labels and produce 45 million labels during the year.
It will also renovate the Northern Zone Laboratory in Arusha and construct three new laboratories in the Western Zone (Tabora), Southern Zone (Mtwara) and Lake Zone (Mwanza).
In 2026/27, TOSCI will intensify inspections across the country, covering 1,669 seed farms spanning 26,600 hectares, 20 million seedlings, 2,800 seed shops and 167 seed storage facilities.
Moreover, it will train 115 certified seed inspectors at council level, 890 seed growers under the Quality Declared Seed (QDS) system, and 6,500 seed traders to strengthen compliance with national quality standards.
“The Institute will collect 4,820 seed samples for quality testing to increase the volume of certified seeds reaching farmers,” he added.
To expand farmer access to improved seed varieties, TOSCI will conduct trials for 80 new seed varieties, evaluate the performance of 30 varieties, verify the authenticity of 250 existing varieties under production and undertake analytical studies on national seed demand.
He further said that in order to improve access to seed information, the Institute will upgrade the TOSCI Online Application Services (TOAS) platform, enabling farmers and stakeholders to obtain information on certified seed varieties quickly and reliably.
