Tanzania Bets Big on Agriculture with Launch of AGCOT

Dodoma, Tanzania – April 23, 2025
By KILIMOKWANZA.ORG TEAM

Tanzania is embarking on a nationwide agricultural overhaul with the launch of the Agricultural Growth Corridors of Tanzania (AGCOT), an ambitious expansion of its regional farming development model. Scheduled for formal unveiling on April 27, the initiative is poised to transform the country’s agricultural sector into a cornerstone of national economic growth and global food competitiveness.

AGCOT is a strategic extension of the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT), a public-private partnership initiated in 2010 that surpassed investment and development targets ahead of schedule. Now, with AGCOT positioned as Flagship No. 7 under the government’s Agriculture Master Plan 2050 (AMP 2050), Tanzania aims to replicate this success across three additional corridors—Central, Northern, and Mtwara—each equipped with cluster-specific investment blueprints and policy compacts.

The move signals a bold shift in policy direction under President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration, which views agriculture not merely as a tool for subsistence but as a critical lever for food security, employment generation, and industrialization.

“AGCOT is not just a scale-up. It is a systems-level transformation of how we approach agriculture—one corridor, one cluster, one value chain at a time,” said Agriculture Minister Hussein Mohamed Bashe during a national stakeholder forum on April 17.

A New Model for Growth

AGCOT will serve as a platform for coordinated public-private collaboration aimed at dismantling long-standing barriers to agricultural growth, including fragmented markets, inefficient logistics, and limited access to finance and modern inputs. It promises targeted interventions in infrastructure, land governance, climate-smart technology, and agro-processing.

The initiative is expected to catalyze $20 billion in net agricultural exports and create millions of rural jobs by 2050. Smallholder incomes are projected to rise by 25%, while national undernourishment rates could fall below 15%, according to AGCOT projections aligned with ASDP II, Agenda 10/30, and AMP policy frameworks.

Key commodities include maize, rice, pulses, horticulture, oilseeds, wheat, and livestock—all areas where Tanzania seeks global export competitiveness. The initiative will also focus on elevating the role of women and youth in agribusiness, embedding inclusivity as a core pillar of national development.

Institutional Backbone

AGCOT will be administered by the AGCOT Centre, a newly restructured institution evolved from the SAGCOT Centre. It will act as the operational nucleus for corridor development, deploying agile implementation teams across all zones. The Centre’s mandate spans investment facilitation, regulatory dialogue, local stakeholder engagement, and performance monitoring.

From Pilot to National Blueprint

SAGCOT’s legacy offers a compelling case study. Over 14 years, the program mobilized $6.34 billion in investments—111% of its original target. Public sector contributions accounted for $5.02 billion, largely in enabling infrastructure, while $1.32 billion flowed from the private sector into commercial farming and processing ventures. The result: more than 1 million farmers empowered, 1.3 million hectares under climate-resilient cultivation, $606 million in farm revenues, and over 253,000 new jobs created.

This track record now serves as the foundation for AGCOT’s national ambitions.

Tanzania’s Strategic Pivot

As global food insecurity and climate concerns reshape development priorities, Tanzania’s pivot toward corridor-based agricultural modernization positions the country as a leader in sustainable agribusiness on the African continent.

AGCOT is more than a policy announcement—it’s a bet on agriculture as the engine of 21st-century African growth.

“We are no longer speaking of agriculture as the past. We are positioning it as the future,” NOTED, Minister Bashe concluded.