An interview with Tulla Mloge, Head of Partnerships at AGCOT Centre Limited

Broadcast on AZAM TV, Habari Wikendi, 8 August 2026

On Saturday evening, 8 August 2026, live from the Dr. John Samuel Malecela Grounds in Dodoma, Tulla Mloge delivered a pointed analysis on AZAM TV’s flagship news programme. The head of partnerships at AGCOT Centre explained how Tanzania’s nane nane exhibitions have undergone radical restructuring—shifting from scattered regional celebrations into a coordinated, high-stakes network designed to drive systemic agricultural transformation.

Her thesis was direct: what once served primarily as annual festivals has become the nation’s premier platform for translating agricultural science into commercial reality.

The Institutional Shift: From Mbeya to Dodoma

Until recently, Mbeya hosted Tanzania’s principal national nane nane exhibition. The move to the capital was accompanied by institutional overhaul. A dedicated preparatory committee now aligns the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (TAMISEMI) across all regional iterations.

This coordination has not gone unnoticed. “We’re now hosting high-level delegations from neighbouring East African countries who travel here specifically to study our exhibition blueprints,” Mloge said. “They come because they see a venue that functions as both celebration and knowledge exchange.”

The demonstration came swiftly. On 1 August 2026—one week before Mloge’s broadcast—the Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania unveiled the National Poultry Development Strategy (NPDS) 2026–2036 at the Dodoma grounds. Standing with the Minister for Livestock and Fisheries, the Prime Minister presented a comprehensive ten-year roadmap backed by substantial private sector investment commitments. The launch exemplified the calibre of national dialogue now anchored at nane nane.

Agriculture as Business: The $100 Billion Imperative

The core of Mloge’s message centred on ideological reframing. For decades, Tanzania’s development strategies positioned farming through subsistence and household food security. That framing is shifting. Nane nane has become the laboratory for repositioning agriculture as commercial enterprise.

This reframing is tied directly to Tanzania’s National Development Vision 2050 (Dira 2050) and the Agriculture Master Plan (AMP) 2050. Both blueprints set an explicit target: agriculture must scale from its current USD 2–5 billion output to USD 100 billion in national GDP by 2050.

Twenty-five years remain to bridge that gap.

“The government has identified youth aged 18 to 35 as the cohort that will drive us to this target,” Mloge stated. “We cannot reach USD 100 billion unless young Tanzanians see agriculture as a profitable, dignified business opportunity—not a default path of survival.”

The mathematics are stark. Current agricultural output sits between USD 2 and 5 billion. Reaching USD 100 billion requires not incremental change but systemic transformation. Youth adoption of technology—from drone application of pesticides to precision farming inputs to minimum-tillage methods—is non-negotiable.

“A farmer who once needed 100 labourers for crop spraying can now accomplish the same work with a single operator using drone technology,” Mloge explained. “That’s profitable farming. That attracts youth.”

The Commerce Question: Value Addition Requires Trade

A persistent tension at nane nane is the balance between agricultural content and commercial activity. Traditionalists argue that increasing numbers of non-agricultural traders dilute the exhibitions’ original purpose. Mloge rejected this framing.

“Value addition cannot exist without commerce,” she said bluntly. “When we transform agricultural products from raw commodities to premium exports, we’re describing a commercial process. Many traders who appear unrelated to farming are actually deeply embedded in our agricultural value chains.”

The evidence is substantial. AGCOT’s ecosystem includes:

ASAS Dairies (Ihemi Cluster): Scaled processing capacity from under 20,000 litres daily (2015) to 400,000 litres daily (2026), integrating over 12,000 smallholder dairy keepers into a commercial supply chain.

Tamu Tamu Tanzania (Ifunda, Iringa): Adapted temperate apple seedlings to equatorial altitudes, built an outgrower model with 2,500 smallholders, and processes local apples into organic juices, jams, and ciders. The operation directly addresses Tanzania’s USD 50 million annual apple import bill.

These are not peripheral activities. They are the agricultural transformation in motion.

Knowledge to Capital: The Missing Link

Mloge stressed that nane nane must serve an educational purpose that outlasts the eight-day exhibition. Attendees must leave equipped with actionable knowledge on modern agronomy, climate-smart technology, and market linkages.

But knowledge alone does not translate to action. It requires capital.

She highlighted the government’s Local Government Finance Act (2026 Amendments)—legislation that mandates all Local Government Authorities allocate 15% of own-source revenues to grassroots development:

10% flows as direct, low-interest loans to youth, women, and persons with disabilities.

5% funds construction and improvement of markets, logistics centres, and entrepreneurship infrastructure.

This legally mandated capital flow de-risks early-stage agribusinesses. Trained youth can now purchase certified inputs and install climate-smart technologies showcased at nane nane.

Proof of Concept: Three Stories from the Ground

Mloge’s vision of agricultural transformation is already underway. AGCOT’s cluster-coordination model—recognised as Flagship No. 7 of the Agriculture Master Plan 2050—is demonstrating the principle across the Southern Highlands:

ISOWELU AMCOS (Njombe)

Founded in 2017 with 208 farmers, this cooperative used systematic soil testing and certified seed varieties to quadruple potato yields from 7 MT/hectare to 28 MT/hectare. Leveraging collective structure, they secured a TZS 1 billion seasonal crop loan from CRDB Bank—with zero personal collateral and zero defaults. They eliminated the exploitative lumbesa bag system entirely, transitioning to fair, weight-based pricing.

Raha Farm (Kilosa)

Led by young entrepreneur Raha Aloyce, this operation supplies certified, disease-resistant tomato and pepper seedlings nationally. In partnership with AGCOT and TAHA, they expanded from 240,000 to over 1 million certified seedlings monthly. Youth now represent 97% of the workforce—85% are young women. It functions as a national model for youth empowerment under the Building a Better Tomorrow initiative.

Farm for the Future (Mazombe, Iringa)

Spanning 350 hectares, FFF combines commercial high-value crop production (1,000+ tonnes of certified maize seed annually) with community empowerment through its NGO arm. They have trained over 2,000 local farmers in Good Agricultural Practices, helping smallholders more than double maize yields (1.5 to 4.0 MT/hectare). Specialised programmes—Women for the Future and Children’s Farm—position agriculture as dignified, profitable work rather than punishment.

The Path Forward

As AGCOT scales its cluster-compact model beyond the Southern Highlands into the newly activated Mtwara, Central, and Northern corridors, nane nane 2026 serves as strategic template.

The formula is clear: fuse advanced science with real-time market intelligence, strict food safety standards, and robust credit frameworks. The result is a food system that is being farmed profitably, sustainably, and with dignity—here at home.

For Tanzania’s youth, the message from nane nane 2026 is unambiguous: agriculture is no longer a sector of last resort. It is where the nation’s economic future is being built.

Source: Interview broadcast on AZAM TV’s Habari Wikendi, 8 August 2026, from the Dr. John Samuel Malecela Grounds, Dodoma.