By ADAM IHUCHA – With an annual growth rate of 11 percent, Tanzania’s
high-potential horticulture industry is blooming and is poised for a great leap
forward, a new data indicates.
The sub-sector has become a growth driver of Tanzania’s
agriculture, as its input to overall agrarian exports value has grown by 38 per
cent in 2014, fresh data shows.
Comparatively, in 2013, horticulture contributed 31 per cent on
agricultural exports value, implying that its input swelled by 7 per cent in a
year.
In real figure, the horticulture brought home
an extra $102 million in 2014, cementing its position as Tanzania’s one of
major sources of foreign exchange alongside tourism, manufacturing, and mining.
Data from Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) shows $477 million worth of
horticultural products were exported last year, up from $375 million in 2013,
equivalent to 38 per cent of total agricultural exports valued at $1.18
billion.
Analysts say as it stands, horticulture
potential offers a glimpse of hope for the struggling agriculture industry in
the backdrop of the declining traditional exports such as coffee and cotton.
Relatively, coffee and cotton exports value
dropped at the lowest level, in the period under review, pushing the
agricultural exports value to $1.18 billion compared to $1.19 billion in 2013.
Latest economic review report by Bank of
Tanzania indicates that coffee earnings declined from $171 million in 2013, to
$121million last year, whereas cotton dropped from $111 million to $54 million
in the period under review.
Tumaini University Senior Development Studies Lecturer Gasper Mpehongwa
says the horticulture potential is a threat to the inflexible coffee
crop.
“This suggests that the majority coffee growers have shifted their mind
to the flexible horticulture crops. The coffee’s future is bleak because it
takes years to yield with prices controlled in the world market,” Dr Mpehongwa
says.
Tanzania Horticultural Association’s (TAHA) Policy and Advocacy Manager
Antony Chamanga says the horticulture sub-sector exported nearly 265,302 metric
tonnes of horticultural products in 2014, compared to 256,429.1 MT in 2013.
Vegetable export volume and value ranked
high, compared to spices, flowers, fruits and seeds.
The country exported nearly 203,921 metric tonnes of vegetable in 2014,
earning the economy $231 million, followed by 15,113 MT of spices valued at
$125.7 million, 12,226.4 MT of flowers which fetched $82 million.
The country also exported 6,440.6 MT of seeds earning nearly $20 million
and 27,601 MT of fruits valued $19.2 million, the Taha’s data shows.
Taha Chief Executive Officer, Jacqueline
Mkindi says the subsector has recorded an average annual growth of 11 percent
for the past six years.
“Horticulture has grown in leaps and bounds -
from northern Tanzania to southern highlands as well as Zanzibar” she explains.
With an enabling environment and massive
involvement of mostly women and youth farming at the moment, only the sky is
the limit, she believes.
“Our target is to hit an annual export value
of $1 billion in 2018 and double in two years’ time to reach a staggering $1.85
billion by 2020,” Ms Mkindi says.
The figure also suggests that over one
million Tanzanians would directly work in the horticulture industry by 2020
when the global demand for the sub-sector’s products would reach $153 billion.
Currently, about 350,000 Tanzanians are engaged in horticultural activities.
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