Tanzania Agribusiness Plans to Increase Wheat Production

Following the Russian-Ukraine war, Tanzania has seen an increase in the price of wheat imports from the region. As a measure to counter this effect, the Tanzanian government plans to increase wheat production to one million tons by 2025.

To attain this goal, the government is adopting use of improved seeds and setting aside thousands of hectares for wheat cultivation. The government is also allocating funds for research and development on the crop production that will also help mitigate the effects of post-harvest loss that has been a burden to farmers.

As of 2021/22 the country produced 70,228 tons of wheat compared to the country’s demand that is one million tons. This trend has made the country largely dependent on imports from Russia and Ukraine.

According to sources within the government, there are plans to increase the land used for wheat cultivation from 100,000 hectares to 400,000, an increase of 300 percent. Furthermore over $66 million will be spent in research and development while distributing 55,000 tons of improved wheat seed to farmers. There are also plans to build wheat processing factories in the regions of Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, and Mwanza.

Opportunities for U.S companies:

• Supply of wheat seeds
• Supply of agricultural machinery (i.e., tractors, harvesters, conveyors, etc.)
• Supply of fertilizers and pesticides
• Supply of technology for warehouse storage

For additional business insights and to analyze your company’s prospects in this growing region, contact Commercial Specialist, Athanasius Lupatu, at the U.S Commercial Service, U.S Embassy, Dar es Salaam, (+255) 22-229-4341, Athanasius.Lupatu@trade.gov.