Africa-Press – Tanzania. TANZANIA Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority (TISEZA) has highlighted a wide range of investment opportunities in large-scale commercial farming.
The investment scope covers crops such as sugarcane, rice, wheat, coffee, tea, sunflowers, beans, floriculture, cotton, sisal, grapes, sesame, and maize.
The Authority emphasised these opportunities in an investment report available on its website.
TISEZA noted that agriculture remains the backbone of industrial growth in Tanzania, providing raw materials for industries and markets for manufactured goods.
The country has 44 million hectares of agricultural land, of which approximately 29.4 million hectares are suitable for irrigation.
“There is significant potential for sugarcane cultivation and sugar production, supported by abundant water sources, favourable climate, and strong market demand,” the report said.
employs about 67 percent of Tanzania’s workforce and continues to play a central role in industrial growth.
According to the report, Tanzania produces around 300,000 tonnes of raw sugar annually (based on 2014/2015 figures), leaving a demand gap of roughly 220,000 tonnes, which is currently met through imports.
This sugar supply gap is expected to increase by an average of 6 percent per year.
The country has four sugar farms producing at full capacity, with an average sugarcane yield of 120 tonnes per hectare—the highest in the world—thanks to favourable soil and climate conditions.
TISEZA highlighted that Tanzania has excellent irrigation potential, supported by abundant rainfall and rivers from the highlands.
The soil and topography in sugarcane-growing areas are ideal for industrial-scale cultivation.
The report also pointed to opportunities in the edible oil sector, noting that Tanzania spends over 150,000 USD annually on imports due to limited modern extraction machinery and low agricultural productivity.
With increased production of sunflower, cotton, peanuts, soybeans, and palm oil, Tanzania could develop a competitive domestic and regional edible oil industry.
Additionally, TISEZA noted that while Tanzania has the second-largest livestock population in Africa, less than 1 per cent of meat is processed domestically, with significant quantities of processed meat still imported.
