Former Prime Minister and head of the President’s food and agriculture council urges HortiLogistica Africa delegates to turn connections into contracts, and to measure the results.
ARUSHA, 9 November 2026. Former Prime Minister Mizengo Kayanza Pinda spoke briefly at the launch of HortiLogistica Africa 2026, but he spoke as someone who grows the crops himself.
He addressed delegates from 45 countries at the Friedkin Recreation Centre as Chairperson of the Presidential Food and Agriculture Delivery Council. His message was simple: farmers’ hard work must be rewarded at the market, and every handshake made in Arusha should be counted by what it delivers.
“Your Excellency, behind every harvest is a farmer’s hard work and a family’s hope,” he said. “That effort deserves a reliable market and a fair return. A harvest becomes prosperity when it reaches the market and rewards the farmer.”
A Farmer on the Podium
Before he began, Mr Pinda apologised with a smile for reading his prepared remarks in English. The audience had heard much of the afternoon’s programme in Kiswahili.
Vice President Deogratius John Ndejembi, the guest of honour, later paid tribute to him as “a farmer and a major stakeholder in horticulture”. Most horticulture, the Vice President noted, is grown in the most fertile regions, such as Njombe, Tanga, Manyara, Mbeya, Pwani, Kilimanjaro and Arusha. Mr Pinda farms in Dodoma, at Zuzu and Mzinje.
“If you go there, you cannot believe it is Dodoma,” the Vice President said.
He also used Mr Pinda as an example of private initiative. He suggested that the former Prime Minister, like the young exporters exhibiting at the fair, had built his farm without ever receiving a subsidised seedling.
The Council Behind the Words
Mr Pinda’s council sits at the top of Tanzania’s food systems agenda. The Presidential Food and Agriculture Advisory Council was established on March 14, 2023, by President Samia to strengthen food security and enhance agricultural productivity. The council’s formation is a result of the Dakar 2 Summit on Feed Africa Food Sovereignty and Resilience that was held in Dakar, Senegal in January 2023.
Its job is to oversee the implementation of the country’s food and agriculture delivery compacts. The council advises on strategies for adding value to crops, promoting innovation in the agriculture sector, and improving access to finance for farmers and investors.
Its membership links it closely to the event in Arusha. When the council was formed, members included Chair of AGRA and the AGRF Partners Group, Hailemariam Desalegn, Chief Executive Officer for Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) Centre Limited, Geoffrey Kirenga and Andrew Masawe, now the AGCOT Centre. Its secretariat included Dr Jacqueline Mkindi Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Tanzania Horticulture Association (TAHA), the driving force behind HortiLogistica Africa. Several members of the council were with him in Arusha.
Horticulture as a Strategic Driver
Mr Pinda told delegates that the council recognises horticulture “as a strategic driver of economic growth, employment, export earnings and food and nutrition security”.
“We see in this sector a powerful opportunity to raise farmers’ incomes, build thriving businesses and create lasting prosperity for our nation,” he said.
He gave TAHA “special recognition for the vision and leadership behind this important initiative”. He also commended the Ministry of Agriculture and the Arusha regional administration for their support.
“Together you have brought the world closer to our farmers and opened new opportunities for trade, investment and national prosperity,” he said.
Four National Priorities
Mr Pinda set out what he called the nation’s clear priorities:
- Investment: in irrigation, cold chains, efficient logistics and value addition.
- Standards: stronger food safety and quality standards.
- Finance and buyers: connecting smallholders to finance and to dependable buyers.
- Youth and women: “Young people and women must have access to the land, capital, technology and skills needed to build successful enterprises.”
The list echoed the concerns raised throughout the launch. The Vice President spoke of pineapples rotting at Msata and of avocado losses in Njombe. Ireland’s development partners called post-harvest losses one of the sector’s most significant constraints. The Horticulture Council of Eastern Africa warned that every delayed consignment means lost income for a grower.
Mr Pinda’s priorities put those concerns into a national agenda.
Credit for the Private Sector
The former Prime Minister also praised business. “I commend the private sector for investing, innovating and opening markets,” he said. “Stronger cooperation between government and business will extend these opportunities to more Tanzanians.”
That fits the wider direction of policy. Deputy Minister in the President’s Office (Planning and Investment) Dr Pius Chaya told the same audience that the private sector is expected to contribute 70 per cent of national output by 2050. Under the Agriculture Master Plan 2050, the Government targets the transformation of agriculture into a US$100 billion sector.
Youth at the Centre
Mr Pinda said the council will keep advising the President on strengthening horticulture’s contribution to agricultural transformation. He singled out “its capacity to create meaningful opportunities for our youth”.
The theme is a familiar one for him. Speaking at a regional investment forum in Kigali earlier, he argued that “Agriculture is increasingly creating decent jobs as technology and mechanisation continue to transform the sector”.
In Arusha, Minister of Agriculture Daniel Chongolo gave that ambition a concrete form. He described the Building a Better Tomorrow (BBT) programme, which has engaged 2,960 young people in production across 18 local government authorities. About 700 acres in Arusha have been identified for young people and women from Meru District Council, Arusha District Council and Arusha City Council.
“Let Us Follow Through and Measure the Results”
The most pointed line of Mr Pinda’s address was a challenge to everyone in the room.
“I urge every participant to turn the connections made here into contracts, investments and jobs,” he said. “Let us follow through and measure the results.”
It matched the closing challenge from Ireland’s Deputy Head of Mission, Ms Suzanne Keatinge. She asked delegates to judge the event by whether producers secure reliable buyers, whether less produce is lost on the way to market, and whether more women and young people earn sustainable incomes.
Mr Pinda ended by saying what he hoped the first HortiLogistica Africa would leave behind.
“Let the enduring legacy of HortiLogistica Africa be better incomes for our farmers, stronger businesses and brighter futures for our young people.”
#HortiLogisticaAfrica2026 #MizengoPinda #PresidentialFoodCouncil #TAHA #Horticulture #YouthInAgriculture #Arusha #Dira2050 #AMP2050 #TanzaniaAgriculture
XXX
Do you have a story or press release for African agriculture? Send it to kilimokwanza.africa@gmail.com or read how to submit.