Tanzania Reports 130% Food Sufficiency After 23 Million Tonnes Harvest, TPHPA Says

# What happened Tanzania's food production topped 23 million tonnes in the past financial year, and the Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticides Authority (TPHPA) reports the country achieved 130 percent food sufficiency. TPHPA Director General Professor Joseph Ndunguru presented the figures and described a set of actions that contributed to production, crop protection, quality control and market access.

# Production and markets TPHPA says production gains happened alongside expanded access to export markets for several Tanzanian agricultural products. Specific market developments include:

• Approval of eight additional Tanzanian companies to export avocados to China, raising the total registered avocado exporters to 24.
• Expanded export access for avocados to South Africa, India and China.
• Market approvals or expansion for soybeans to China, cottonseed and sunflower cake to China, yellow maize to Egypt, and fresh bananas to South Africa.

TPHPA interprets these approvals as international confidence in the quality and safety of Tanzania's produce.

# Major pest interventions TPHPA led a large-scale operation against quelea birds, which invaded 21 districts. Using aircraft and drones, the authority reports control of 233.5 million quelea birds and an estimated prevention of 1,092,780 tonnes of grain loss. The DG said this operation protected the livelihoods of thousands of farming households who risked losing harvests.

The authority also upgraded plant health surveillance capability. It used PCR testing and DNA sequencing to identify a locust species found during an investigation in Mpwapwa District, Dodoma Region. That identification is presented as improving Tanzania's capacity to detect and respond to emerging pests and diseases.

# Pesticide regulation and product clean-up

# Planned next steps For the 2026/27 financial year, TPHPA plans to strengthen border inspection stations by equipping them with mini-laboratories, modern equipment and faster inspection services. The authority also plans to expand pesticide residue monitoring, farmer education, pest risk analysis and efforts to broaden international market access.

# Guidance to farmers Professor Ndunguru urged farmers to report unusual pests or crop disease symptoms promptly, to use only registered pesticides and to work closely with TPHPA experts and agricultural extension officers to protect health, the environment and market access.

# What this means for stakeholders Producers: The combination of higher domestic output and tighter controls on pests and pesticides should support farm-level production and marketability of crops destined for export.

Buyers and exporters: Expanded approvals for several crops open new trade channels, particularly with China, South Africa, India and Egypt, but will require continued compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary requirements.

# Bottom line TPHPA presents the past year as a period of higher production, aggressive pest control, tighter pesticide regulation and broader export access. The authority's near-term plans focus on inspection capacity, residue monitoring and farmer outreach to support those outcomes.