13/05/2026
As an individual passionate about agriculture, I carry a very big hope that agriculture can drive our economy at a much higher level because we already possess the natural and strategic foundations required for transformation. Tanzania has more than 44 million hectares of arable land, favorable climatic conditions, access to regional and international markets through the Indian Ocean, and one of the youngest labor forces in Africa. Agriculture already contributes approximately 26% of Tanzania’s GDP and employs more than 60% of the national workforce, which means the sector is already carrying a significant portion of the economy even before major industrial investment and modernization.
The biggest challenge we are facing is prioritizing agriculture as one of our major sources of revenue and attracting the young generation to see opportunities in this space through market assurance, investment, innovation, and industrialization. This is where we have been stuck. In comparison to what I have seen in most countries I have visited, and just to be specific I will use the United States as an example, I have been to places like Iowa, Kansas, and Lincoln Nebraska where farming is highly advanced, but when you look closely at what makes the difference, it is not because they simply have more land than us. The difference is serious investment and deliberate government support. This includes infrastructure, irrigation, mechanization, agricultural financing, storage systems, transportation networks, incentives, insurance systems, export support, research institutions, and proper policies that treat agriculture as a strategic economic sector rather than just a rural activity.
My visitation to these states unlocked my thinking in terms of how governments should work towards opening international markets and investing in industries that support agricultural performance. This includes value addition, packaging, agro-processing industries, logistics systems, export readiness, and the industrialization of the sector in general. Countries that transformed their economies through agriculture followed this exact direction.