MWE Correspondent
Tanzania is doubling down on its horticulture sector, aiming to turn fresh produce into a leading source of foreign exchange, youth employment, and national pride.
In its newly tabled 2025/26 agricultural budget, the government has outlined bold plans to grow annual horticultural export earnings to $2 billion by 2030.
This push is part of a wider strategy to increase total agricultural exports from the current $1.2 billion to $5 billion, with support from both the public and private sectors.
The Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA), the industry’s umbrella body, has hailed this renewed focus on horticulture. Its CEO, Dr. Jacqueline Mkindi, described the move as “a timely recognition of the sector’s contribution to inclusive growth, export diversification, and job creation.”
According to the Minister for Agriculture, Hussein Bashe, the government’s plan will focus on improving productivity, reducing post-harvest losses from up to 40% to just 5%, and building value chains that empower women and young farmers.
“Increasing efficiency and cutting waste is crucial,” Bashe said during the budget presentation. “Every tonne lost is income lost.”
Between 2020 and 2024, production of horticultural crops increased from 7.3 million to 7.5 million tonnes. Avocado farming in particular has seen a boom, with output rising from 149,340 tonnes in 2022/23 to a projected 195,162 tonnes in 2024/25. Tanzania’s avocado exports are expected to earn the country over Sh252.3 billion this year, up from Sh117.5 billion two years ago.
The success of avocado farming has been buoyed by recent market breakthroughs, including the opening of China’s import market to Tanzanian avocados after years of technical negotiations. Exporters are also tapping into European markets, with demand growing steadily in Germany, France, and the Netherlands.
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TAHA says its next step is to improve smallholder access to cold storage, packaging centres, and transport logistics. “We are now working on building shared-use infrastructure to help producers reach high-value markets,” said Dr. Mkindi. “It’s the only way to compete globally.”
Horticulture also forms part of Tanzania’s strategy to reduce dependence on food imports. The government wants to curb reliance on imported edible oils, wheat, and grains, instead focusing on self-sufficiency and strengthening local agro-industrial supply chains.
An estimated 3 million jobs are projected to be created by 2030 through the horticulture boom, largely benefitting youth and women—two groups often marginalized in traditional farming.
Meanwhile, the government and TAHA have launched the Horticulture Export Accelerator Programme (HEAP), designed to help exporters meet international safety and phytosanitary standards, making Tanzanian products more competitive on global shelves.
With policy reforms, market access, and public-private collaboration all gaining momentum, Tanzania’s bid to become a horticultural powerhouse appears increasingly realistic—and its fields, once overlooked, are now poised to shape the country’s economic future.
