African Agriculture and Food Systems
NAIROBI — Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Kenya has appointed Rashmi Pillai, a seasoned expert in digital financial services and former executive at the fintech unicorn Wave Mobile Money, as its next Chief Executive Officer. Pillai will take the helm in February 2026, succeeding Tamara Cook, whose six-year tenure has been defined by a pivot toward “financial […]
Kilimokwanza.org Report 50, December 1: The Century of the Hoe and the Tractor: A Socio-Ecological History of Agricultural Development in Tanzania (c. 1924–2024) Introduction: The Metabolic Rift and the Unfinished Agrarian Question The agricultural history of Tanzania over the last century is not merely a chronicle of crop yields, export statistics, or shifting political regimes; […]
A Landmark Deal Opens Tanzania’s Markets In early November 2025, Tanzania quietly gave the green light for imports of 14 Brazilian animal protein products, signaling a major shift in its food supply strategy. The decision, confirmed by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock on November 7th, followed the signing of strict sanitary agreements between the […]
Kilimokwanza.org Report 1. Introduction: The Geographic and Historical Canvas The trajectory of agricultural development in Gatimu Ward, nestled within the Ol’Joro Orok Sub-County of Nyandarua County, offers a profound longitudinal case study in the transformation of the East African highlands. Geographically, the ward is defined by its high-altitude plateau, straddling the equator which passes directly […]
Dar es Salaam In the high-stakes arena of African agriculture, Tanzania is rewriting its own narrative. For years, the country’s fast-growing livestock sector—especially poultry—has relied heavily on imported soy cake from Zambia and Malawi, exporting millions in foreign currency while fertile arable land remained underutilised. That model is now beginning to shift. Under the strategic […]
IRINGA, Tanzania — In the cool, rolling highlands of Iringa, where mist often clings to the tea estates and maize fields, a quiet but radical financial and logistical engineering project has just entered its execution phase. For decades, the narrative of African agriculture has been one of immense potential stymied by fragmented value chains. on […]
Strategic Assessment of the Tanzanian Soybean Sector: Market Dynamics, Genetic Innovation, and the Operational Footprint of Sange Agro-Seed Company Ltd. Kilimokwanza.org Report 1. Introduction: The Agronomic and Economic Imperative The agricultural sector of Tanzania currently stands at a pivotal juncture, characterized by a rigorous transition from subsistence-based farming systems to highly integrated, commercialized value chains. […]
Scientific Agronomic Protocol for Optimized Production of Solanum tuberosum cv. Markies in the Nyahururu Highlands Scientific Agronomic Protocol for Optimized Production of Solanum tuberosum cv. Markies in the Nyahururu Highlands 1. Pedoclimatic Characterization and Site Specificity 1.1 Geospatial Analysis of Location X99C+34 The geospatial identifier X99C+34 resolves to a specific agronomic zone within the Nyahururu […]
Kilimokwanza.org At first glance, Tanzania’s poultry trade balance appears contradictory. On one hand, the country is rapidly emerging as a regional powerhouse in poultry genetics, exporting hundreds of thousands of high-quality day-old chicks to its neighbors. On the other, it remains deeply reliant on imports—from frozen chicken entering through Zanzibar to the soybeans needed to […]
The High Price of an Imported Habit In the bustling markets and modern supermarkets of Dar es Salaam, a single, glossy apple represents a small luxury. Its price, approximately 1,500 Tanzanian Shillings (TZS), equivalent to about €0.50 or $0.60, is a stark data point in the daily economy.1 For many, it is an affordable indulgence, […]