Tanzania Agriculture Economy

• The main sectors of the economy cover: Agriculture, Mining, Tourism, Manufacturing, Utilities (water, electricity), Construction, Trade, Transport and Communication, Financial and Business Services, Public Administration, Economic and Social Services: Education, Health and Other activities.
• Most important commodities include cotton, fish and shrimp, coffee, cashew nuts, cloves (grown in Zanzibar islands), tea, beans, precious stones, timber, sisal, sugar, pyrethrum, coconuts, and peanuts, textiles, clothing, shoes, batteries, paper, and cement.
• Agriculture (Kilimo Kwanza) employs around 70 per cent of the working population. Cash crops, including cotton, coffee, tea, sisal, tobacco and cashew nuts, are the country's main export earners
• Tanzania 44 million hectares of arable land, numerous rivers for irrigation, labor force, policies and programs for agriculture, but less than 24% of arable land and 4% irrigation potentials has been harnessed.
• Tanzania’s livestock production rose by 33% during 2008–2013, exceeding the Sub-Saharan Africa average livestock production growth rate of 11% during the same period
• Meat production in Tanzania rose by 33% over the period 2008–2013, from 422,230t to 563,086t, as indicated in the 2014–2015 Annual Report of the Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food Securities and Development.
• In 2010 the SAGCOT, an agricultural partnership designed to improve agricultural productivity, food security and livelihoods in Tanzania, was initiated. During March 2016, the WB approved a USD 70m SAGCOT Investment Project to support the agricultural sector of Tanzania and strengthen it by linking small holder farmers to agribusiness for boosting incomes and job-led growth.
• The Tanzanian agriculture value-added net output increased by 61% during the period 2009–2014, from USD 8.6bn to USD 13.8bn, exceeding by 5% the growth of value-added agricultural output in Sub-Saharan Africa during the same period.
• Currently, value-added products in Tanzania include cotton yarn, manufactured coffee and tobacco, sisal products (yarn and twine), and wheat flour. In line with the 2025 Vision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Cooperatives of Tanzania, there should be at least two new products developed from each of the staple crops, horticultural crops, livestock and fisheries by that year.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

• The latest Bank of Tanzania (BOT) Monthly Economic Review of January 2020 indicates that in the year ending December 2019, credit to the private sector recorded an annual growth of 11.1% compared with 4.9% in December 2018.
• This was supported by sustained accommodative monetary policy, coupled with ongoing measures implemented to improve the business environment, the Bank explains. Credit growth was observed prominently in agriculture (+90.1%), building and construction (+72.6%), and transport and communication activities (+14.6%).
• In terms of shares in the outstanding credit to the private sector, personal-related and trade activities continued to account for larger shares with 28.7% and 17.7% respectively, followed by manufacturing (10.9%), agriculture (9.5%), and transport and communication (5.5%)