Agenda 10/30 is an ambitious plan to transform Tanzania’s agricultural sector by 2030. This strategic initiative, which seeks to boost the sector’s GDP growth by 10%, identifies 13 priority crops, including maize, rice, wheat, and cashew nuts, to drive this goal. Agenda 10/30 also aligns with the United Nations’ broader 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in 2015, reinforcing Tanzania’s commitment to sustainable agricultural development.
The plan’s objectives are underpinned by four key strategies: strengthening partnerships with stakeholders, investing in modern agricultural technologies, enhancing workforce skills, and implementing policies to promote sustainable practices. Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture is leading these initiatives, aligning closely with STREPHIT (Strengthening Plant Health Services in Tanzania for Enhanced Food Safety), a four-year project designed to address critical administrative and technical challenges in plant health that hinder agricultural trade and compromise food security. The STREPHIT project has an overall budget of EUR 10.6 million, with contributions from the European Union (EUR 10 million), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (EUR 350,000), and the Government of Tanzania (EUR 250,000).
STREPHIT is being implemented across mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, focusing on six primary outcomes: ensuring relevant TPHPA directorates fulfil international mandates, strengthening plant health inspection at import and export sites, operationalising detection and traceability systems, refining sampling and transmission protocols for exports, enhancing the skills of field protection and surveillance providers, and advancing data collection and transfer methods.
Professor Joseph Ndunguru, Director General of the Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticides Authority (TPHPA), emphasised the importance of these efforts, echoing the vision of Her Excellency Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Tanzania, who has underscored the country’s potential to contribute to global food security. Prof. Ndunguru highlighted that realising this vision depends on meeting international standards for agricultural exports. Two factors are critical to this goal: increasing productivity, a domain where TPHPA has made substantial progress, and ensuring the proper, safe use of pesticides in line with international standards.
The Tanzanian government also aims to increase revenue from agricultural exports from USD 2.3 billion to USD 5 billion by 2030. Additionally, the Ministry seeks to generate around 3 million jobs in agriculture, particularly for youth and women, with the STREPHIT project playing a pivotal role in realising these ambitions.
Impact of STREPHIT’s Contribution to TPHPA in Realising Agenda 10/30
One year after STREPHIT supplied the Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticides Authority (TPHPA) with advanced surveillance equipment, substantial progress has been achieved. Key outcomes include enhanced internal revenue, streamlined surveillance operations, easier access to import and export permits, and increased staff motivation. These developments reflect the tangible impact of Agenda 10/30’s four strategic pillars.
In October 2023, STREPHIT, with support from the FAO and funding from the EU, officially handed over various surveillance tools to TPHPA. This equipment included seven Land Cruiser vehicles, 19 motorbikes, 34 dissection kits, 20 surveillance drones, 17 illuminated magnifiers, 17 Ethernet switches, 17 Wi-Fi routers, 41 Galaxy tablets, 34 desktop computers, 17 laboratory refrigerators, and 17 portable lab inspection tables. This support has streamlined TPHPA’s surveillance activities, reducing labour-intensive processes and increasing efficiency. For instance, 20 trained drone pilots now use drones to apply pesticides on farms, saving time and resources previously spent on manual labour. These pilots also provide surveillance services to commercial farmers, further increasing TPHPA’s internal revenue.
With the additional revenue generated, TPHPA has procured supplementary surveillance equipment, including 10 more vehicles and 19 motorbikes, which has significantly improved operational efficiency and staff morale, empowering them to fulfil their mandate more effectively.
As Tanzania’s National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO), TPHPA is a key player in achieving Agenda 10/30 goals. Recognised under the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), TPHPA is responsible for inspecting plants and plant products, issuing phytosanitary certificates, monitoring pest outbreaks, and overseeing national plant health regulations. TPHPA also coordinates with both public and private stakeholders to raise awareness of plant health issues and act as a bridge between local, national, and international stakeholders. These critical roles have been greatly enhanced by STREPHIT’s support, contributing directly to Tanzania’s agricultural and economic development objectives under Agenda 10/30.
NPPOs are established under national legislation, with legal authority derived from constitutional, regional, and international treaties. These foundations enable TPHPA to serve as the sole regulatory body for plant health, further advancing Tanzania’s commitment to the standards and goals set out by Agenda 10/30.