Dodoma
Dodoma is the national capital of Tanzania, where the parliament is located. Situated about 480km west from the Indian Ocean in the center of the country, it has a population of 456,035.
The city covers an area of 2,669 sq. km of which 625 sq. km are urbanized.
In 2016, Tanzania’s President John Magufuli announced that he will ensure the Government headquarters, historically located in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, move to Dodoma over the next five years.
The decision to move the Government’s headquarters from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma was originally taken by former President Julius Nyerere in 1973. During that time, the Tanzanian government wanted to move the capital from Dar es Salaam to a more central location to better serve the needs of the people.
However, Nyerere’s decision wasn’t implemented due to financial constraints and economic difficulties.
Dodoma Real Estate
Due to the upcoming move of the Tanzanian government to Dodoma, prices in the real estate market are expected to increase.
In 2020, prime residential rents in Dodoma range between USD 2,500 and USD 3,000 per month on average for a three-bedroom apartment.
Dodoma Productive Sectors
Dodoma Fruits
The Dodoma region is found in the Central Plateau zone, which is famous for production of fruits such as grapes, mango, papaya, guava, baobab, tamarind, and dates. Among these fruits, grape is the major cash crop produced by farmers.
Grape production in Dodoma is dominated by smallholder farmers, who produce grapes in their own farms.
On average, each smallholder produces 1,630 kg of grapes per annum on 0.83 hectare of land.
Dodoma Food Crops
The Dodoma region falls under the semi-arid central zone, which favours the production of sorghum, millet, maize, oil seed crops, and paddy.
The major staples food crops produced in Dodoma include maize, sorghum, millet, rice, pulses (mainly pigeon peas), cassava, potatoes, bananas, and plantains in some areas.
Crops such as cassava and potatoes are produced in small quantities but with higher productivity.
Dodoma Livestock
Livestock farming is the second major economic activity in the Dodoma Region. In 2017/18, cattle meat production reached 7,403 tonnes, followed by goats (2,326 tonnes), pig (766 tonnes), and sheep (374 tonnes).
There are two companies processing livestock products in the region: the Tanzania Meat Company (TMC) and S & Y Gourmet.
TMC processed 6,562.5 tonnes of beef for domestic consumption and 1,400 tonnes of goat meat and sheep meat for export.
S & Y Gourmet processed 90 tonnes of goats and sheep and 250 tonnes of cattle for export only.
TMC and S & Y Gourmet export meat to Oman, Morroco, Iraq, and Vietnam.
Dodoma Mining
Dodoma has more than 52 different kinds of minerals whose extraction by local miners has been low due to inadequate capital and lack of modern technical knowhow.
These include: copper deposits in Tambi, Kimagai and Kinusi in Mpwapwa District; nickel at Haneti in Chamwino District; Manganese at Kibakwe in Mpwapwa; silca; enstatite in Mpwapwa; scapolite (marialite-meionite) at Rubeho Mountains; spessartine garnet at Loliondo Mpwapwa; marialite in Mpwapwa; gypsum in Mpwapwa and Chamwino; quartz, limestone, gold, uranium, green tormaline in Chemba.
