CHONGOLO: TANZANIA READY TO FEED DRC COMMERCIALLY
High-level bilateral meeting and grain facility inspection signal imminent maize trade deal between Dar es Salaam and Kinshasa
Tanzania has declared its readiness to enter into broad commercial discussions with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including a potential landmark agreement on food trade, following a high-level diplomatic exchange between the two nations this week.
The declaration was made by Hon. Daniel Chongolo (MP), Minister of Agriculture, during a formal meeting with Mr. Tony Bandio Munongo, Presidential Adviser to the DRC on Economic Affairs and Investment, held on March 13, 2026 in Dodoma. The Congolese delegation — nine officials in total — also included Mr. Fredy Matamba, Assistant Presidential Adviser on Economic Affairs and Investment.
On the Tanzanian side, the meeting brought together Prof. Peter L. M. Msoffe, Deputy Secretary General for Crop Development and Food Security, and Dr. Andrew Komba, Chief Executive Officer of the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA), alongside a team of technical experts.
From Berlin to Dodoma — and Into the Warehouses
The visit follows an earlier bilateral engagement between Minister Chongolo and his DRC counterpart, Hon. Muhindo Nzangi Butondo, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, on the sidelines of the 18th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in Germany. This week’s delegation represents the first concrete follow-up on the commitments made in Berlin.
Beyond the diplomatic table in Dodoma, the Congolese officials also travelled to Dar es Salaam to conduct a hands-on inspection of NFRA’s strategic grain storage facilities at Chang’ombe in the Temeke district — an early step aimed at building confidence in Tanzania’s capacity to deliver on any eventual trade agreement. The delegation inspected the quality of maize held in storage and engaged in technical discussions about procurement procedures and logistics for transporting grain to the DRC.
NFRA Board of Trustees Chairperson, Ambassador John Ulanga, who received the delegation at the facility, noted that the visit was itself preceded by a Tanzanian mission to Kinshasa, led by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Gerald Mweli. “This visit is a strong signal that negotiations are progressing positively,” Ambassador Ulanga told journalists. “We are optimistic that both countries will reach an agreement within a short period.”
Tanzania’s Surplus Is on the Table
Dr. Andrew Komba clarified the scope of what Tanzania is offering. The country currently holds approximately 1.5 million metric tonnes of grain in its strategic reserve — a threshold maintained to protect national food security in the event of any domestic emergency. Any maize made available for export, he stressed, represents a surplus accumulated beyond that protected floor.
“What we are offering for sale is purely the surplus,” Dr. Komba said. “The core strategic reserve remains intact and fully secured.”
The Congolese delegation expressed satisfaction with both the scale and the condition of Tanzania’s stockpiles.
A Regional Vision
Minister Chongolo, for his part, welcomed the prospect of a partnership that would expand bilateral trade across food commodities, market systems, transport infrastructure and other commercial domains. He framed the engagement firmly within the broader national agenda set by President Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan — to produce food in sufficient volumes and surplus so that Tanzania can feed the EAC and SADC regions on a commercially sustainable basis.
If finalised, a Tanzania–DRC maize trade deal would mark a milestone in bilateral food security cooperation and further cement Tanzania’s emerging identity as a regional food basket.