Agriculture Gets a Boost: Budget Soars Over 300% in Just Four Years

By Elizabeth Shumbusho

From SAGCOT to AGCOT: Tanzania Charts New Agricultural Future Across Four Growth CorridorsDODOMA, TANZANIA | May 2025Tanzania has officially launched four new Agricultural Growth Corridors under the national banner of AGCOT (Agriculture Growth Corridors of Tanzania), marking a historic expansion of its agricultural transformation agenda.

The move, announced during the reading of the 2025/2026 Agriculture Budget by Minister of Agriculture Hon. Hussein Mohamed Bashe (MP), elevates the concept pioneered by the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) into a nationwide strategy designed to boost productivity, value addition, and export competitiveness across diverse agro-ecological zones.

“Wizara katika mwaka 2024/2025 imeanzisha Kanda nne (4) za Kuendeleza Kilimo Tanzania kupitia shoroba za Kilimo (AGCOT), zilizozinduliwa na Mheshimiwa Kassim Majaliwa Majaliwa (Mb.), Waziri Mkuu wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania tarehe 27 Aprili, 2025,” the Minister declared in Parliament.

The four corridors—Central, Southern, Mtwara, and Northern will be coordinated by the newly established Agriculture Transformation Office (ATO). Each corridor will serve as a hub for integrating smart farming technologies, enhancing access to markets, facilitating agribusiness finance, and driving sustainable production practices.

According to the budget speech (Paragraph 180), the government will allocate direct funds to operationalize these corridors, which are expected to significantly:

– Increase crop productivity and yields

– Improve access to both local and export markets

– Promote investment in agro-processing and value addition

– Expand the distribution of quality inputs such as seeds and fertilizer.

The SAGCOT Centre, previously tasked with piloting the Southern Corridor, will now become part of the broader AGCOT framework under the oversight of ATO. As stated in the budget:“SAGCOT itakuwa sehemu ya AGCOT chini ya usimamizi wa ATO.

” (Paragraph 329)This strategic shift aligns with Tanzania’s Agriculture Master Plan 2050 and responds to continental targets under the African Union’s CAADP 2026–2035 agenda.

It signals the government’s intention to graduate from fragmented agricultural projects into a cohesive, corridor-based system capable of transforming rural economies at scale.Stakeholders in the agriculture sector, including private investors, farmers’ organizations, and development partners, have been urged to rally behind the AGCOT framework to catalyze inclusive and sustainable growth.

As Tanzania eyes agricultural exports worth over USD 5 billion by 2030, the corridors will play a central role in building infrastructure, attracting value chain investment, and creating dignified jobs for youth and women across the country.The AGCOT corridors are more than just geographic zones they are the new arteries of Tanzania’s agri-industrial future.