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Tanzania · Section 1 of 9

Overview

Agriculture, forestry and fishing produced 24.3% of Mainland GDP in 2025 and grew by 5.5% in real terms, and agricultural households made up 65.3% of all households in the 2019/20 agriculture census. Tanzania exported US$3.16 billion of agri-food products in 2025, led by tobacco, cashew nuts, coffee, pulses and sesame. Bank lending to agriculture reached TZS 7.29 trillion in June 2026, 13.7% of commercial bank lending, after growing faster than total lending since 2022.

Agriculture share of GDP (Mainland)
24.3%
20251
Agricultural value added (United Republic)
20.65US$ bn
20252
Real agricultural growth (Mainland)
5.5%
20251
Households engaged in agriculture (United Republic)
65.3%
2019/203
Agriculture share of employment (United Republic)
54.4%
20254
Bank loans to agriculture (United Republic)
7,292TZS bn
≈ US$2.78 bn5
Jun 20266
Agriculture share of bank lending (United Republic)
13.7%
Jun 20266
Agri-food exports (United Republic)
3.16US$ bn
20257
1.1

At a glance

Agriculture is a quarter of output and engages most households. On the 2019 base published in 2026, agriculture, forestry and fishing generated TZS 56.8 trillion of value added on the Mainland in 2025, 24.3% of GDP, and grew by 5.5% in real terms against GDP growth of 5.9%1. The World Bank, whose series for the United Republic is still on the 2015 base, puts agricultural value added at US$20.65 billion in 20252. The 2019/20 agriculture census counted 7.84 million agricultural households, 65.3% of all households, and the 2025 labour force survey found 54.4% of employed persons working in agriculture34. Zanzibar, with its own statistics office, contributed 3.8% of the United Republic's GDP in 2025 (own calculation), and agriculture was 20.6% of Zanzibar's GDP8.

Food crops lead production, and cash crops earn foreign exchange. The Ministry of Agriculture reported 23.8 million tonnes on Tanzania Mainland of food crops in grain equivalent in 2024/25, including 10.9 million tonnes of maize, and a food self-sufficiency ratio of 130% for 2025/269. On FAOSTAT data for 2024 Tanzania ranked second in the world for sisal and third for raw cashew nuts (own calculation)10. Cashew output reached 528,264 tonnes in the 2024/25 marketing season and tobacco sales 185.8 million kg in the 2024/25 crop season1112.

Agri-food exports exceed imports. Tanzania reported US$3,155.7 million of agri-food exports and US$1,370.6 million of imports to UN Comtrade for 20257. India, Belgium, China and Viet Nam took 40.2% of exports (own calculation), while cereals, vegetable oils and sugar made up 65.4% of imports (own calculation)7.

Bank credit to agriculture has risen since 2022. Commercial bank lending to agriculture, hunting and forestry rose from TZS 1.60 trillion at the end of 2021 to TZS 6.09 trillion at the end of 2025 and TZS 7.29 trillion in June 2026, about US$2.78 billion, and agriculture's share of bank lending rose from 7.3% to 13.7%1365. Only 3.8% of agricultural households borrowed for farming in 2019/2014. The Bank of Tanzania introduced a Central Bank Rate in January 2024 and raised it to 6.25% in July 20261516.

Rain-fed farming is exposed to climate swings. More than 80% of agriculture is rain-fed according to the National Adaptation Plan of 2025, and El Niño rains in late 2023 and early 2024 brought floods and a landslide in Hanang, with the Prime Minister reporting 155 deaths from rains and floods between January and April 20241718.

Out of every 100…
Agriculture's weight in households, jobs, output and credit
65.3
households were agricultural households (2019/20 agriculture census)3
54.4
employed persons worked in agriculture (labour force survey 2025)4
24.3
shillings of Mainland GDP came from agriculture, forestry and fishing (2025)1
13.7
shillings of commercial bank lending went to agriculture, hunting and forestry (June 2026)6
528,264 t
of raw cashew nuts in the 2024/25 marketing season11
130%
food self-sufficiency ratio for 2025/26, from the 2024/25 harvest9
674,686 t
of subsidised fertiliser distributed in 2025/26, to March 202619
5.43 million
farmers registered in the input subsidy system by March 202619
Agriculture's share of GDP
Agriculture, forestry and fishing, % of GDP at current market prices, 2019 base, 2016–2025
Source: NBS · NBS/OCGS · OCGS · World Bank WDI — NBS revised the Mainland accounts to a 2019 base in 2026, and NBS and OCGS published the first harmonised series for the United Republic and Zanzibar on the same base. The revised series is consistent from 2016. The rebasing lowered agriculture's 2019 share of Mainland GDP from 27.1% to 24.8%24. 2025 is provisional, and the Mainland share of 24.3% for 2025 excludes Zanzibar. The World Bank series for the United Republic, still on the 2015 base according to its country metadata, gives 22.9% for 2025, against 24.1% on the harmonised 2019-base series23.
Agriculture's share of bank credit
% of loans, end of year 2010–2025 and June 2026, two Bank of Tanzania series
Source: BoT QEB · BoT QSB · BoT BSR · BoT MER — The first line is the share in commercial banks' domestic lending by activity, as published from 2013 and an own calculation for 2010–2012. It uses the same editions as the lending chart, the Quarterly Economic Bulletin of December 2014 for 2010–2012, that of December 2017 for 2013–2017, the Quarterly Statistical Bulletin of December 2023 for 2018–2020 and that of June 2026 for 2021 to June 2026, so the joins in 2013, 2018 and 2021 are breaks in the series. The second line is the share of agriculture, fishing, hunting and forestry in the gross loans of all banks and financial institutions in the Banking Supervision Annual Reports. The two series use different coverage and definitions.
1.2

Key issues for agricultural finance

Few farm households borrow

Only 294,618 agricultural households, 3.8%, borrowed for farming in 2019/20, and banks supplied 34.6% of the TZS 200.7 billion they received14. Global Findex found 4.9% of adults borrowing from a formal institution in 202431.

Bank lending is rising fast

Bank credit to agriculture grew by 38.4% in the year to August 2026, and agriculture's share of commercial bank lending reached 13.7% in June 2026, against an FYDP IV target of 20% of total credit by 2030/3132633.

Central bank incentives for farm lending

Since July 2021 banks that lend to agriculture at no more than 10% can reduce their statutory reserves by the amount lent, and in the third quarter of 2025 they used TZS 4.1 billion of this relief and TZS 138 billion of a special loan facility3435.

Large public input programme

The government subsidised 674,686 tonnes of fertiliser in 2025/26 to March 2026, with a subsidy of TZS 281.6 billion, and registered 5.43 million farmers19.

Marketing through warehouse receipts

1.12 billion kg of nine crops worth TZS 2.68 trillion were sold through warehouse receipt digital auctions in 2025/2636.

Small agricultural insurance market

Agricultural insurance premiums were TZS 7.83 billion in 2024, 0.82% of general insurance premiums, and only 10 of 30 general insurers wrote agricultural cover37.
Notes on the data. Mainland statistics come from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Zanzibar statistics from the Office of the Chief Government Statistician (OCGS). In 2026 NBS moved the Mainland national accounts to a 2019 base, which runs from 2016 and lowers agriculture's measured share, and NBS and OCGS published the first harmonised accounts for the United Republic. The fiscal year runs from July to June. Ministry of Agriculture food production is measured in grain equivalent and reported in the following year's budget speech. Bank credit by activity is the Bank of Tanzania monetary statistics series. Trade by partner is from UN Comtrade for 2025, as reported by Tanzania. The IMF has not published 2025 exchange rates for Tanzania, so 2025 and 2026 conversions use Bank of Tanzania rates.

Sources cited on this page

  1. National Accounts of Mainland Tanzania 2019-2025, Excel tables (NatPub 2025, base year 2019, file dated 28 Sep 2026) — National Bureau of Statistics, Tanzaniaverified
  2. World Development Indicators – Agriculture, forestry and fishing value added (current US$), NV.AGR.TOTL.CD (API, JSON) — World Bankverified
  3. National Sample Census of Agriculture 2019/20, Key Findings Report for Crops and Livestock Sectors and Fish Farming (PDF) — National Bureau of Statistics, Tanzania and OCGSverified
  4. Key Indicators of the Labour Market of the URT, Integrated Labour Force Survey 2025 (PDF, June 2026) — National Bureau of Statistics, Tanzania and OCGSverified
  5. Monthly Economic Review, September 2026 (English, PDF), Tables A1 and A10, TZS/USD exchange rates — Bank of Tanzaniaverified
  6. Quarterly Statistical Bulletin, June 2026 (PDF) — Bank of Tanzaniaverified
  7. UN Comtrade – Tanzania, agri-food trade (HS chapters 01–24) by partner, 2025 (public preview API, JSON) — United Nations Statistics Divisionverified
  8. Tables of URT harmonised GDP, base year 2019: URT, Mainland and Zanzibar, quarterly and annual 2016-2025 (Excel) — National Bureau of Statistics, Tanzaniaverified
  9. Hotuba ya Waziri wa Kilimo kuhusu Makadirio ya Mapato na Matumizi 2026/2027 (budget speech, PDF), section 2.2 and Table 1 food crop production 2024/2025 season — Ministry of Agriculture, United Republic of Tanzania (Wizara ya Kilimo)verified
  10. FAOSTAT QCL bulk download (release 23 Dec 2025), all-country Production 2024, used for own calculation of world production ranks — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsverified
  11. Hotuba ya Waziri wa Kilimo, Makadirio 2025/2026 (budget speech, May 2025, PDF), section 2.2 and Tables 1-3 — Ministry of Agriculture, United Republic of Tanzania (Wizara ya Kilimo)verified
  12. Final report for the green leaf tobacco procurement, crop season 2024/2025 (PDF) — Tanzania Tobacco Boardverified
  13. Quarterly Statistical Bulletin, December 2023 (PDF) — Bank of Tanzaniaverified
  14. National Sample Census of Agriculture 2019/20, Main Report (PDF) — National Bureau of Statistics, Tanzania and OCGSverified
  15. Monetary Policy Committee statement, 19 January 2024 (PDF) — Bank of Tanzaniaverified
  16. Monetary Policy Committee statement, 3 July 2026 (MPC No. 244) (PDF) — Bank of Tanzaniaverified
  17. National Adaptation Plan 2025-2035 (November 2025), PDF copy on Climate Policy Radar (UNFCCC submission) — United Republic of Tanzania, Vice President's Officeverified
  18. Revised Emergency Appeal, Tanzania Floods and Landslides 2023-24, MDRTZ035, revision 1 dated 07/05/2024, PDF — International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societiesverified
  19. Budget speech 2026/2027 (PDF), section 4.1.3-4.1.4, fertiliser subsidy and farmer registration 2025/2026 — Ministry of Agriculture, United Republic of Tanzania (Wizara ya Kilimo)verified
  20. National Accounts of Mainland Tanzania 2019-2025, first edition in the 2019 revised GDP series (PDF, June 2026) — National Bureau of Statistics, Tanzaniaverified
  21. NBS statistics topic page: Annual National Accounts Publications — National Bureau of Statistics, Tanzanialanding page verified
  22. OCGS publications: Annual GDP Reports — Office of the Chief Government Statistician, Zanzibarlanding page verified
  23. World Development Indicators – Agriculture, forestry and fishing value added (% of GDP), NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS (API, JSON) — World Bankverified
  24. The Economic Survey 2025 (PDF, July 2026) — Ministry of Finance, United Republic of Tanzaniaverified
  25. Quarterly Economic Bulletin, quarter ending December 2014 (PDF) — Bank of Tanzaniaverified
  26. Quarterly Economic Bulletin, quarter ending December 2017 (PDF) — Bank of Tanzaniaverified
  27. Directorate of Banking Supervision Annual Report 2015 (PDF) — Bank of Tanzaniaverified
  28. Directorate of Banking Supervision Annual Report 2019 (PDF) — Bank of Tanzaniaverified
  29. Banking Supervision Annual Report 2025 (PDF) — Bank of Tanzaniaverified
  30. Monthly Economic Review, January 2016 (data to December 2015, PDF) — Bank of Tanzaniaverified
  31. Global Findex Database 2025 release, Tanzania indicators via World Bank API (source 28) — World Bankverified
  32. Monthly Economic Review, September 2026 (data to August 2026, PDF) — Bank of Tanzaniaverified
  33. The Fourth Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP IV) 2026/27-2030/31, English, PDF dated June 2026 — National Planning Commission, United Republic of Tanzaniaverified
  34. Public notice: Policy measures to promote credit to private sector and lower interest rates, 27 July 2021 (PDF) — Bank of Tanzaniaverified
  35. Monetary Policy Report, October 2025 (PDF) — Bank of Tanzaniaverified
  36. Sauti ya Stakabadhi newsletter, Issue 02, August 2026 (PDF) — Warehouse Receipts Regulatory Board (Bodi ya Usimamizi wa Stakabadhi za Ghala)verified
  37. Annual Insurance Market Performance Report 2024 (PDF, published 11 Nov 2025) — Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authorityverified
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AI-assisted content, human-reviewed: This page was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by a human editor. (last review: October 2026) Despite review, errors or outdated values may remain; please verify critical figures against the linked primary sources before relying on them. Nothing here is investment, legal or financial advice.
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