Modern technology for improved agriculture productivity

Tanzanian crops include cereals with 4,798,071 planted hectares or 61 per cent of Tanzania’s total planted area, followed by roots and tubers 14per cent, pulses 12 per cent, and oil seeds 7 per cent.

Main exported cash crops are coffee, tea, cotton, cashews, raw tobacco, sisal and spices Among the main food crops in Tanzania are maize, sorghum, millet, rice, wheat, beans, cassava, potatoes, bananas and plantains.

Tanzania’s agricultural sector has played a key role in the last 25 years contributing to a general decline in poverty thanks to the country’s fertile arable lands, diverse climatic zones and plenty of natural water sources throughout Tanzania.

However, only 24 per cent out of about 44 million hectares of total lands have been utilized so far according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

It is crystal clear that agriculture underpins the economy. The sector is the major contributor to the national economy. It is also a source of livelihood for millions. This is specially true for those rural communities that have no access to education.

What is more, the sector is serving as a springboard for other economic sectors. On the path towards industrialization, the agriculture sector is serving as a stimulus to the various manufacturing industries that operate in the country

These areas mentioned above are being mainly cultivated by smallholder farmers whom develop average farm sizes between 0.9 and 3.0 hectares using rustic methods, leaving only 10 per cent of the arable land cultivated by tractor.

The main obstacles that hinder the development of the agricultural sector include; First, poor access and low use of improved seeds and fertilizers. Second, under-investment in productivity enhancing technologies including agricultural mechanization;

Third, limited access to financing for uptake of technologies and five,. unreliability of rainfall in some of the regions and lastly, limited use of available water resources for irrigated agriculture. This is why the government is constantly promoting a policy environment with incentives in the agricultural sector.
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In 2009 Tanzania’s former President Jakaya Kikwete launched the Kilimo Kwanza initiative as a central pillar in achieving the country’s Vision 2025 to become a middle-income country.

Kilimo Kwanza (Agriculture First) is a national resolve to accelerate agricultural transformation in Tanzania.

It comprises a holistic set of policy instruments and strategic interventions towards addressing the various sectorial challenges and taking advantage of the numerous opportunities to modernize and commercialize agriculture in Tanzania.

In 2015 the Tanzania Agriculture Development Bank was established by the government , specifically to assist the government in implementing its policies and strategies relating to the agricultural sector.