Crops

Tanzania's food crop production surged from 17,148,290 tonnes in 2021/2022 to 22,803,316 tonnes in 2023/2024, lifting the country's Food Self-Sufficiency Ratio to 128%.

The crops sub-sector is the backbone of Tanzania's agricultural economy, contributing 16.1% to national GDP in 2024^[1].

In the 2022/2023 agricultural year, 98.3% of the country's 8,970,096 agricultural households were engaged in crop production, underscoring the sector's centrality to rural livelihoods and food security.

Diverse climatic conditions, bimodal and unimodal rainfall patterns across regions, and extensive water resources make Tanzania a rare environment where total rainfall failure across all regions is highly unlikely, supporting both tropical and temperate crops.

Crops Sub-Sector Performance

The crops sub-sector contributed 16.1% to Tanzania's national GDP in 2024, the single largest component within an agriculture sector that accounted for 26.3% of GDP overall^[1].

Sectoral growth has demonstrated a positive trajectory, with agriculture expanding 4.1% in 2024 and 4.0% in the first nine months of 2025^[2].

This expansion is attributed to the increasing adoption of modern technologies in crop production.

Crop production also supports the broadest base of rural employment, with 98.3% of the 8,970,096 agricultural households engaged in crop cultivation during the 2022/2023 agricultural year.

Food Crop Production and Self-Sufficiency

Food crop production increased significantly from 17,148,290 tonnes in the 2021/2022 period to 22,803,316 tonnes in 2023/2024.

This surge raised the country's Food Self-Sufficiency Ratio to 128%, an outcome driven by favorable climatic conditions, improved input supplies, targeted agricultural policies, and coordinated stakeholder efforts.

Major food crops driving this production include maize, rice, pulses, bananas, and cassava.

Other commercially and domestically important crops encompass paddy, sorghum, millet, potatoes, sweet potatoes, various roots and tubers, beans, dried oil seeds, vegetables, and fruits.

Cash Crops and Export Markets

Traditional cash crops include cashew nuts, coffee, cotton, tea, and tobacco, with strong export demand.

Agriculture accounted for 23.6% of total goods exports in 2025^[2].

Tanzania continues to supply established traditional markets, including the European Union, specifically Belgium, Poland, and Germany, as well as the UAE and Far East markets including South Korea, Indonesia, and China.

The sector is simultaneously expanding into new markets.

To support exporters, the national trade development authority is updating its Trade Portal with export procedures for specific crops and has launched a mobile application providing real-time price information from major markets.

Land Resources and Production Base

Tanzania has a total land area of 94.5 million hectares, of which 44 million are classified as arable.

Currently, only 10.8 million hectares, equivalent to 24%, are under crop production, largely dominated by smallholder farmers cultivating less than five hectares with limited use of inputs and high reliance on rainfed production.

Fewer than 4,000 large-scale commercial farms operate in the country.

Of the 29.4 million hectares suitable for irrigation, 2.3 million hectares have high development potential and 4.8 million hectares have medium potential.

Fertilizer demand and actual application by Tanzanian farmers has grown significantly to 1,000,000 tonnes per year, with the average application rate improving to 24 kg per hectare^[6].

Overall fertilizer availability in the country reached 1,213,729 tonnes in 2024/2025.

Policy Framework

Agricultural Master Plan 2050

The Agricultural Master Plan 2050^[3] provides a long-term roadmap for transforming Tanzania into a higher middle-income country by 2050 through the modernization of the crops, livestock, and fisheries sectors.

The plan focuses on expanding irrigated land, increasing the use of improved inputs, promoting mechanization of farm activities, strengthening access to extension services, and reducing post-harvest losses.

It also aims to improve access to both local and international markets, enhance research and development, encourage adoption of innovation and technology, and implement policy and regulatory reforms to facilitate trade and value addition.

The plan emphasizes creating employment opportunities for youth and women in agriculture.

2030 Mid-Term Targets

To complement this long-term vision, a mid-term ambition has been set for 2030^[4]: attain 10% annual growth in the agricultural sector, enhance the productivity of key commodities by more than 50%, and increase smallholder incomes by more than 25%, reaching approximately USD 1,500 (TZS 4 million).

Further targets include promoting the development of medium and large-scale commercial entities across the value chain, expanding agro-processing to USD 3 billion (around TZS 8 trillion), and achieving USD 6 billion (around TZS 16 trillion) in regional and international exports.

Flagship Initiatives and Prioritized Commodities

Flagship initiatives include enhancing food security; sustainably unlocking 1.5 million hectares for commercial agriculture; securing 1.2 million hectares of land ownership; expanding the area under irrigation to 1.2 million hectares; improving soil health; quintupling seed production; and developing traditional cash crops and major food crops.

Additional initiatives target digitally registering 9.9 million farmers and stakeholders, approximately doubling extension service coverage, providing financing access to 1.7 million beneficiaries in groups and 30,000 small and medium-sized enterprises, scaling market linkages for more than 2 million smallholders, and increasing processing of specific commodities tenfold.

The 20 prioritized commodities are: fruits (focusing on avocado and banana); spices (cloves and potatoes); vegetables (cassava); cotton; cashew; sisal; coffee; maize; paddy; sorghum; wheat; sunflower; sesame; soybeans; kidney beans and other pulses; poultry; red meat; dairy; fodder; and aquaculture.

Agricultural Corridors

A dedicated agricultural corridor program covers Tanzania's Central Zone, Southern Zone, Mtwara Zone, and Northern Zone, and is designed to strengthen agricultural production and productivity, improve access to domestic and international markets, enhance capital access, promote crop value addition, and facilitate the availability of agricultural inputs.

The initiative targets a USD 100 billion agricultural GDP, USD 20 billion in net exports, and 10% annual sector growth by 2050.

Investment Opportunities

The Ministry of Agriculture has identified investment opportunities across edible vegetable oil seeds (sesame, sunflower, palm oil, and soya beans), maize, rice, cassava, legumes (pigeon peas, lentils), horticultural crops (grapes, cloves, cut flowers, and avocados), cashew nuts, sisal, cotton, and pyrethrum^[5].

With only 24% of arable land currently under crop production and fewer than 4,000 large-scale commercial farms in operation, commercial farming at scale represents a significant opportunity for greenfield investment.

Productive infrastructure investment angles include irrigation systems and water harvesting facilities, particularly across the 2.3 million hectares of high-potential and 4.8 million hectares of medium-potential irrigation land.

Supply and local manufacturing of inputs and farm machinery is a priority, including hybrid organic and mineral fertilizers, phosphate-based fertilizers, liquid fertilizers, compost, calcium carbonate (lime), and bio-pesticides targeting mosquito larvae and crop pests.

Post-harvest facilities, including pack houses, cold storage, and warehouses, are a flagged investment area to reduce post-harvest losses.

Agro-processing facilities for cereals, oilseeds, cashews, sugar, coffee, and dairy offer value-addition opportunities aligned with the target of expanding agro-processing to USD 3 billion (around TZS 8 trillion) by 2030.

Export facilitation opportunities span auctions, logistics, and crop hubs.

Specific priority commodities flagged for accelerated commercial development include wheat, soybeans, poultry, and fertilizer.

Cashew nut processing in particular stands out, as Tanzania is among the world's leading producers, allowing expanded local processing and export of kernels.

Blended agrifinancing, climate resilience programs, and inclusive value chains are explicitly open to development partners, impact investors, and DFIs, with credit guarantees having historically supported 1.5 million smallholder farmers and youth- and women-led agribusinesses through over TZS 2.6 trillion deployed since 2000.

Last Update: May 2026

References

1. https://www.kilimo.go.tz/uploads/speeches/sw-hotuba_yabajeti25_26.pdf (Guide reference #65)
2. https://www.bot.go.tz/Publications/Regular/Quarterly%20Economic%20Bulletin/en/2026020820330341.pdf (Guide reference #66)
3. https://tanzaniaslovakia.sk/ws/media-library/21b3183f837a4485af13f5a885da3938/tanzania-agriculture-master-plan-2050_master-plan_.pdf (Guide reference #70)
4. https://www.kilimo.go.tz/uploads/text-editor/files/8.%20AGENDA%2010-30%20DOCUMENT_1757321538.pdf (Guide reference #71)
5. https://www.kilimo.go.tz/uploads/documents/sw-1747227277-Agriculture%20Annual%20Report%202023%20-%202024%20compressed.pdf (Guide reference #72)
6. https://www.viwanda.go.tz/uploads/documents/en-1747115028-hotuba_online_compressed.pdf (Guide reference #129)