TANZANIA

Abstract and Main Features

Through this National Ecological Organic Agriculture Strategy (NEOAS), Tanzania envisions itself as a leader in ecological organic agriculture (EOA) driving environmental conservation, public health, climate resilience, food security, and economic growth. Its mission is to scale up EOA through supportive policies, investments, and partnerships, focusing on capacity building, market development, and value chain strengthening. The overarching goal is to mainstream EOA into national agricultural frameworks by 2030, promoting sustainable development and improved livelihoods while putting emphasis on supporting smallholder farmers in co-creation of knowledge, facilitating their access to bio inputs, and promoting agroecological extension services and markets (Bringing agroecology to scale in Eastern and Southern Africa: Update on countries’ National Agroecology Strategies, Biovision, 2025).

Some of the main features of this strategy include: 

• Foundations in the principles of EOA as expressed in the African Union’s Ecological Organic Agriculture Initiative. 
• A holistic definition of ecological agriculture based on the principles of agroecology 
• Alignment with biodiversity with direct links to Target 10 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. 
• A certification reform to reduce EOA certification by 30% while promoting Participatory Guarantee Systems. 
• The development of ICT-based solutions to scale up EOA practices and knowledge-sharing. 

Objectives 

The National Agroecology Strategy has 12 strategic objectives: 

1. Enhance capacity of institutions for research, training and extension systems in developing and disseminating appropriate EOA technologies and practices. 
2. Promote availability and accessibility of EOA inputs and appropriate farm machineries (tools, equipment and implements). 
3. Strengthen the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) system to access and disseminate appropriate EOA information. 
4. Strengthening networking, capacity in EOA sub-sector organizations, and institutional coordination framework. 
5. Ensure compliance with standards and certification of EOA products at affordable cost. 
6. Facilitate development of EOA value chains. 
7. Strengthen environmental conservation using Ecosystem-based Adaptation and Nature-based Solution. 
8. Mainstream cross-cutting issues in EOA sub-sector. 
9. Facilitate acquisition and accessibility of financial resources for EOA investment. 
10. Facilitate development and use of irrigation infrastructure in EOA production systems. 
11. Enhance availability, accessibility and utilization of land for EOA. 
12. Increase the business and trade volumes of EOA products in the national, regional, and international markets. 

These strategic objectives define the key achievements envisioned in the strategy and are included within a broader collection of 6 priority areas:  

1. Make Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) inputs available to smallholder farmers
2. Bring EOA knowledge to smallholder farmers
3. Expand EOA market access to farmers
4. Mainstream EOA in Village Land Use Plans
5. Foster Investments across EOA value chains
6. Strengthen Coordination, Capacities and Governance

Key Target Groups  

Tanzania aims to support and empower several key target groups through this strategy including: 

• Indigenous people through the incorporation of indigenous knowledge in farming systems.  
• Women and youth through programs that are tailored to ensure they can engage and maintain ownership of new opportunities in EOA (e.g. ‘Building a Better Tomorrow’ program). 
• People with disabilities, by making sure they are included and supported adequately in participating to and contributing to the development and benefit of organic agriculture initiatives.  
• Local government authorities (LGAs) at different levels. 
• Line ministries and their respective departments and institutions, including Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI). 

Expected Results 

The NEOAS of Tanzania is expected to deliver the following outcomes: 

• Enhanced Food Security through improved availability of nutritional food through sustainable practices (e.g. intercropping, composting, etc.) and increased farm incomes coupled with greater access to premium organic markets. 
• Improved practices in climate resilience, soil restoration, and biodiversity conservation. 
• Expanded Global Market Participation through stronger positioning in international organic trade. 
• Strengthened resilience and inclusiveness in implementing Green Growth initiatives. 
• Increased productivity and market access to reduce poverty and enhance food sovereignty through national control over food systems. 
• Establishment of a Centre of Excellence for agroecological training, research, and innovation in Dodoma.  
• Creation of an Agroecological Hub in Tanzania at the Soen University of Agriculture aiming at promoting sustainable, productive agroecological farming systems, research, capacity building, knowledge sharing, and stakeholder engagement. 

Strategy Development Process 

The NEOAS of Tanzania was developed through a coordinated and consultative effort comprising interventions from the government and periodical consultations with all stakeholders and Development Partners involved under the overview of a steering committee. Key contributors included the County Executive Committee Member for Agriculture, the Committee on Agriculture of the County Assembly, NEOAS, a technical committee and external experts. Further support in the planification phase was provided by Development partners and donors such as Biovision Foundation, SWISSAID Tanzania, GIZ Organic Cotton Programme, the Norwegian Embassy in Tanzania, Iles de Paix, FAO and HELVETAS. 

Ministries and Stakeholders Involved in the Process 

• Government Ministries: Ministry of Agriculture and others, Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries. 
• President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government 
• Farmers and Farmers’ organizations 
• Value chain actors – Buyers, exporters, processors, and supermarkets 
• Certification agencies  
• Regulatory bodies: Tanzania Fertilizer Regulatory Authority (TFRA), Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS), The Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticides Authority (TPHPA), The Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI). 
• CSOs, Academia and research institutions: Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM), Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT), Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Tanzania, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). 
• Funding partners: Ministry of Agriculture, SWISSAID Tanzania, Biovision Foundation, Helvetas, GIZ, Iles de Paix, Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT) (National Agroecology Strategies in Eastern and Southern Africa: Lighthouses for food systems transformation, Biovision, 2024).

Implementation 

The Strategy’s implementation is envisioned through a mix of new policies, legal frameworks, and institutional structures. The established Implementation Task Force (ITF), chaired by the Ministry of Agriculture and TOAM exercising a secretariat role, will provide guidance on the NEOAS implementation focusing on the identified six priority areas mentioned above. And three landscapes have been identified by the stakeholders for starting the NEOAS implementation. These are the Lake zone landscape, the Northern zone landscape, and the Central zone landscape. Implementation relies on participatory approaches, including stakeholder forums, public participation, and collaboration with civil society, research institutions, and the private sector. Therefore, the county government drives the process, but success hinges on shared responsibility with stakeholders across the value chain. Additionally, the strategy specifically outlines the list of targets, performance indicators, activities, responsible institution/s (mainly government bodies) and the time frame expected to implement the initiatives envisioned within the nine pillars of the plan. 

Budget and Funding 

The estimated budget for implementing the strategy’s objectives is TZS 52.7 billion (approx. USD 21 million).  

Funding will be mobilized through: 

• Government allocations aligned with the Maputo Declaration. 
• Development partners via basket funding and direct support. 
• Private sector contributions, including NGOs and agribusinesses. 
• Ecotourism linked to EOA experiences. 
• Farmers’ markets, organic food days, and EOA dinners. 
• Localized conferences and profiling of EOA champions. 
• Certification fees and Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS). 

N.B. This summary was reviewed by Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM)

 Do you want to send any suggestion or feedback about the information in this page? 

Image Credit: The Centre d’Actions et de Réalisations Internationales (CARI)