From Singida to the shores of Lake Victoria, Tanzania’s largest agricultural corridor came alive as Regional Commissioners, government leaders, and private sector stakeholders declared: “We have received the assignment, and we are ready to deliver.”
The Central Corridor is the spine of Tanzania’s agricultural ambition.
Stretching from the administrative capital Dodoma through the grain belt of Singida, Tabora, and Shinyanga, and northward to the vast livestock pastures and fishing grounds of Mwanza, Geita, Kagera, Mara, and Simiyu — it is the largest of the three new corridors activated under the Agricultural Growth Corridors of Tanzania (AGCOT) framework. Ten regions. Millions of farmers, pastoralists, and fisherfolk. And from February 12–17, 2026, across two intensive consultation sessions in Singida and Mwanza, Tanzania’s most senior regional leaders declared — in terms that left no room for ambiguity — that implementation has begun.
SINGIDA: WHERE THE SUNFLOWER REVOLUTION STARTS
February 12, 2026
The first Central Corridor consultation convened in Singida on February 12, bringing together Regional Commissioners, District Commissioners, Regional and District Administrative Secretaries, Council Executive Directors, and technical experts from the regions of Dodoma, Singida, Tabora, and Shinyanga — alongside officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Agriculture Transformation Office (ATO), the AGCOT Centre, AGRA, and technical consultants from PEMANDU Associates.
Dodoma Regional Commissioner Hon. Rosemary Senyamule chaired the opening session and set the strategic tone immediately, framing the corridors within the highest levels of national policy.
“Serikali ya Awamu ya Sita chini ya uongozi wa Mhe. Rais Dkt. Samia Suluhu Hassan imeweka msisitizo mkubwa katika mageuzi ya Sekta za Kilimo, Mifugo na Uvuvi kama kiungo cha kukuza uchumi wa Taifa, kuongeza ajira na kuinua maisha ya Watanzania kwa ujumla.”
Translation: “The Sixth Phase Government under the leadership of H.E. President Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan has placed great emphasis on transforming the agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors as the engine for growing the national economy, increasing employment, and improving the lives of all Tanzanians.”
— Hon. Rosemary Senyamule, Regional Commissioner, Dodoma
RC Senyamule made clear that this was not an abstract policy exercise. The corridors are designed to deliver measurable economic outcomes — reducing production and transportation costs, increasing value addition, raising farmer and pastoralist incomes, attracting private sector investment, and linking high-production areas to critical infrastructure: roads, railways, ports, markets, and processing factories — all while addressing the realities of climate change.
Speaking directly from the consultation floor, RC Senyamule explained the operational logic:
“Tuko hapa leo Singida, tukikutana na viongozi wa serikali kuanzia ngazi ya wizara, ngazi ya mikoa — mikoa yetu ya Singida, Dodoma, Tabora na Kigoma. Lengo ni kuelimishana namna gani sasa maamuzi ya serikali ya kutekeleza dira ya taifa ya kilimo ya mwaka 2050 ifanyeje kazi katika kuleta mageuzi ya kilimo nchini.”
Translation: “We are here today in Singida, meeting government leaders from the ministry level down to the regional level — our regions of Singida, Dodoma, Tabora, and Kigoma. The goal is to educate one another on how the government’s decisions to implement the national agricultural vision 2050 can be operationalised to deliver agricultural transformation across the country.”
“Na tunachokifanya ni kuonyesha mifano ya yale yaliyofanikiwa katika ukanda wa SAGCOT miaka hiyo kumi na tano iliyopita, na jinsi ambavyo haya yanaweza kufanyika katika koridoo hizi mpya.”
Translation: “What we are doing is showing examples of what succeeded in the SAGCOT corridor over the past fifteen years, and how those successes can be replicated in these new corridors.”
— Hon. Rosemary Senyamule, speaking at the Singida consultation, February 12, 2026
The message was unmistakable: the SAGCOT model — which mobilised USD 6.34 billion in investment, empowered over one million smallholder farmers, and today accounts for 65% of Tanzania’s national food production — is now being deployed at national scale.
THE SUNFLOWER IMPERATIVE
The Singida session zeroed in on one of the Central Corridor’s most urgent economic opportunities: the sunflower value chain and edible oil import substitution.
The numbers are stark. Tanzania currently imports more than half of its 500,000-metric-ton annual edible oil requirement — a massive outflow of foreign exchange that the corridor strategy aims to reverse. Dodoma and Singida alone account for over 53% of national sunflower production. The strategic target agreed at the consultation: increasing production from 204,000 to 420,000 metric tons within four years through contract farming models and digital information systems.
This is not marginal optimisation. This is import substitution at national scale — and the Central Corridor is where it begins.
TABORA JOINS THE FRAMEWORK
Tabora Regional Commissioner Hon. Paulo Chacha participated in the Singida session alongside colleagues from Dodoma, Singida, and Shinyanga, joining strategic discussions on joint approaches to corridor development.
“Kuimarisha ushirikiano wa kikanda katika kukuza sekta ya kilimo, kuongeza tija katika uzalishaji na kuchochea maendeleo ya uchumi wa Taifa kupitia matumizi bora ya rasilimali zilizopo katika mikoa husika — ndio maana ya mkutano huu.”
Translation: “Strengthening regional collaboration in agricultural development, increasing productivity, and stimulating national economic growth through better utilisation of existing resources in our regions — that is what this forum is about.”
— Hon. Paulo Chacha, Regional Commissioner, Tabora
The Singida session included detailed discussions on joint strategies for developing agricultural corridors, improving production and marketing infrastructure, and mobilising investment across the full value chain of strategic commodities. It was described as part of the government’s broader strategy to make the agricultural sector the primary engine of economic growth, employment, and income generation.
THE ATO FRAMEWORK: CORRIDORS AS TRANSFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
At every consultation session, ATO Director Elizabeth Missokia provided the technical framing that connected the corridor concept to national policy architecture.
“Dhana ya shoroba za kilimo ni moja ya miradi ndani ya mpango kabambe wa mageuzi ya sekta ya kilimo, mifugo na uvuvi, unaounganisha uzalishaji, usindikaji, uchakataji, usafirishaji na uhifadhi pamoja na masoko ili kuharakisha mageuzi ya sekta hizo.”
Translation: “Agricultural corridors are strategic zones that integrate production, processing, value addition, storage, transportation, and markets. Their objective is to accelerate the transformation of productive agriculture and support the country’s transition to an upper-middle-income economy by 2050.”
— Elizabeth Missokia, Director, Agriculture Transformation Office (ATO)
Missokia’s briefings contextualised AGCOT within the National Development Vision 2050, explaining how the corridor concept connects production areas with critical infrastructure — roads, railways, ports, markets, factories, and financial services — to accelerate sectoral transformation across crops, livestock, and fisheries. AGCOT is recognised as Flagship No. 7 of the Agriculture Master Plan (AMP) 2050.
MWANZA: THE GREAT LAKES LIVESTOCK HUB TAKES SHAPE
February 17, 2026
Five days after Singida, the consultation moved to Mwanza — and the scope expanded dramatically.
The Mwanza session brought together leaders from six regions: Mwanza, Geita, Kagera, Mara, Simiyu, and Singida. Hosted by Mwanza Regional Commissioner Hon. Said Mohamed Mtanda, the consultation addressed what may be the Central Corridor’s single largest economic opportunity: a USD 200 million livestock transformation.
Mwanza alone hosts 1.97 million cattle. The surrounding Lake Zone regions hold a massive share of the national herd. The AGCOT vision is to transform this region into the “Great Lakes Livestock Hub” — establishing modern feedlots and slaughterhouses within the Mwanza Special Agro-Processing Zone (SAPZ), creating a circular economy that links sunflower by-products from the Singida zone to livestock fattening operations in the Lake Zone.
RC Mtanda framed the challenge — and the opportunity — in terms that resonated with every leader in the room:
“Umuhimu wa Serikali kushirikiana na Sekta Binafsi katika kukuza uzalishaji, kuongeza ajira pamoja na kuboresha maisha kupitia Sekta za Kilimo, Mifugo na Uvuvi hauwezi kusisitizwa vya kutosha. Ni lazima tutengeneze mazingira bora ya uwekezaji katika mifumo yote ya kisera na kiutendaji — ikihusisha masuala ya kikodi, mitaji pamoja na miundombinu.”
Translation: “The importance of government partnering with the private sector in boosting production, increasing employment, and improving livelihoods through the agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors cannot be overstated. We must create an enabling investment environment across all policy and operational systems — including taxation, capital access, and infrastructure.”
— Hon. Said Mohamed Mtanda, Regional Commissioner, Mwanza
The Mwanza discussions went beyond rhetoric. Participants examined the specifics of investment environments — taxation frameworks, capital access mechanisms, and infrastructure requirements — that would be needed to bring commercial agriculture companies, processors, financial institutions, and input suppliers into the corridor framework at scale.
THE MOMENT THAT DEFINED THE TOUR
Then came the remarks that would set the tone for the entire nationwide consultation.
Singida Regional Commissioner Hon. Halima Omari Ndendego — a veteran of SAGCOT implementation from her tenure as Regional Commissioner for Iringa, where she had overseen structured public-private collaboration in agriculture and livestock on the ground — closed the Mwanza session with words that combined institutional memory, moral authority, and unmistakable urgency.
She began with acknowledgement:
“We are products of this journey. We have been part of SAGCOT since its conceptualisation. We worked together during its implementation, evaluated progress collectively, and today we are grateful that the Government has embraced the model for rollout across the entire country.”
— Hon. Halima Omari Ndendego, Regional Commissioner, Singida
Then she delivered the message that every regional leader — whether familiar with SAGCOT or encountering the model for the first time — needed to hear:
“This is serious work. It is government work. Each one of us, in our respective areas, must closely follow the blueprints, work collaboratively with our teams and stakeholders, and ensure tangible results are delivered.”
And then the line that will define the Central Corridor’s implementation era:
“There is no room for guesswork. Progress will be measured through data — comparing the situation we found with the outcomes we achieve. We have received the assignment, and we are ready to deliver.”
— Hon. Halima Omari Ndendego, Regional Commissioner, Singida (former RC Iringa, SAGCOT veteran)
Her sentiments were echoed immediately across the entire Lake Zone network. Regional Commissioners from Mwanza, Shinyanga, Simiyu, Geita, Kagera, and Mara joined in underscoring that the AGCOT model has been well received and that implementation begins immediately — in direct service of Tanzania’s Agriculture Master Plan 2050 and Tanzania Development Vision 2050.
WHAT COMES NEXT
The Central Corridor now enters accelerated implementation. The AGCOT Centre and ATO have committed to deploying agile teams across the corridor in the coming weeks. Regional Commissioners and Administrative Secretaries have been tasked with identifying regional technical experts to support the development of corridor implementation plans at regional and district levels.
Corridor Blueprints and Greenprints — the detailed implementation roadmaps and environmental sustainability frameworks developed by PEMANDU Associates — are on track for completion by March 30, 2026.
A dedicated sensitisation session for Kigoma Region, the final piece of the Central Corridor puzzle, is confirmed for completion before March 10, 2026.
The private sector mobilisation campaign, led by the AGCOT Centre, launches in the second week of March 2026.
The Central Corridor — linking the administrative capital with the grain belt, the sunflower heartland, and the Great Lakes livestock frontier — is open for business.
The Central Corridor consultations were conducted under the coordination of the Agriculture Transformation Office (ATO), in partnership with PO-RALG, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, the AGCOT Centre, AGRA, and PEMANDU Associates.