SERA Policy Brief: Policy Options for Food Security, Agricultural Growth, and Poverty Reduction in Tanzania

Tanzania has a unique opportunity to improve food security by increasing agricultural growth and rural incomes through exports of food crops to the East Africa region. Tanzania has an abundance of natural resources that can be used to increase food crops production, and it faces a regional market that is food deficit and expected to remain food deficit for the foreseeable future. Tanzania’s exports will depend mostly on its ability to increase production and access regional markets. Enabling policies are essential for Tanzania to achieve its export potential both in order to provide incentives to farmers to increase production and in order to maintain access to regional export markets. These policies should focus on private sector-led growth, encouraging exports, and allowing market forces to guide the economy. Key policy areas include policies to: Increase Food Crops Production, Encourage Exports of Food Crops, Improve Systems to Identify Food Insecure and Vulnerable Groups, Hold Adequate Food Grain Reserves for Emergencies, and Establish a Transparent Rules-Based System for Emergency Food Imports. If Tanzania can make the right policy choices in these key areas, it can expect to improve long-term food security, experience more rapid growth in the agricultural sector, and reduce rural poverty.