AfDB’s $2.5 million grant to support 10,000 small horticultural businesses in Tanzania

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A worker collecting harvested avocadoes at Tanzania's Musubi Farm. AfDB grant to support such farms to improve their efficiency of their agricultural activities

Up to 10,000 small businesses operating in horticulture value chain in Tanzania are set to benefit from financial support of $2.5 million, a grant approved by the bank’s Board of Directors on 19 October 2023.

The grant which will come from the Global Agriculture & Food Security Program will support mainly food system service providers in rural areas.

It will allow the small operators in Tanzania to improve the efficiency of their agricultural activities, substantially increasing the volume and quality of products per unit of surface area.

In the long term, these benefits should significantly impact other farmers, which should help more agricultural communities and the country as a whole.

The scheme will be implemented in four regions: the rural district of Morogoro, Mvomero district in Morogoro region; Wanging’ombe district in Njombe region, and Kaskazini ‘A’ and ‘B’ districts in Unguja, Zanzibar.

It targets five value chains: spices such as cloves, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper and garlic; tomatoes; peas; green beans and potatoes.

Other components include building at least five climate-resilient facilities for sorting, classification, bulk packing, packaging and storage to reduce post-harvest losses.

A multi-purpose, climate-resilient processing facility for spices will be established in the Morogoro district in the eastern side of the country to process spices for local and regional markets.

The project will allow small operators in Tanzania to improve the efficiency of their agricultural activities, substantially increasing the volume and quality of products per unit of surface area.

In the long term, these benefits should significantly impact other farmers, which should help more agricultural communities and the country as a whole.