DAR ES SALAAM: VICE-PRESIDENT Mr Deogratius Ndejembi’s directive to the Ministry of Agriculture to review the crop pricing system is a timely intervention that deserves urgent and decisive action.
For Tanzania to build a resilient agricultural sector, farmers must receive prices that cover production costs, generate reasonable profits and protect them from exploitation by intermediaries.
Agriculture remains a mainstay of livelihoods for millions of Tanzanians, particularly smallholder farmers.
Yet, despite their critical contribution to food security and the national economy, many continue to face rising production costs, unpredictable market prices and limited bargaining power.
This undermines their incomes, discourages investment and threatens the sustainability of farming as a business.
The Vice-President’s example of maize production in Makambako, Njombe Region, illustrates the challenge.
When a farmer spends between 600,000/- and 700,000/- to cultivate an acre and harvests between 10 and 20 bags, the returns can vary considerably.
Selling at 450/- to 500/- per kilogramme may leave some farmers struggling to recover their investment, particularly when yields are low.
The government must, therefore, establish a transparent pricing framework informed by production costs, prevailing market conditions, expected yields and reasonable profit margins.
Such a system should be flexible enough to accommodate differences in regions, seasons and farming methods while ensuring that farmers are not forced to sell at a loss.
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Equally important is the Vice-President’s call for stronger cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA).
Enabling farmers to sell their produce directly to the agency, where practical, could reduce unnecessary intermediaries, improve producers’ earnings and strengthen national food reserves.
However, direct procurement must be supported by accessible buying centres, timely payments, transparent quality standards and adequate storage facilities.
Without these measures, smallholder farmers may continue to depend on middlemen because of immediate cash needs and the costs of transporting and storing their crops.
Ultimately, fair crop pricing is not merely an agricultural concern; it is a matter of economic justice, rural development and national food security.
The government must translate the Vice-President’s directive into practical reforms, backed by effective monitoring and accountability.
Farmers who feed the nation deserve a market system that rewards their labour, protects their investments and enables them to prosper.
Tanzania’s agricultural transformation will be meaningful only when farming becomes a viable and profitable enterprise for the people who sustain it.