ABSTRACT
Growth in agricultural production has a significant effect on economic growth: A cross-country study in Africa suggests that agriculture is the main engine of growth and the sector with the highest potential for poverty reduction. Since political independence, most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have struggled to improve the welfare of their people by increasing production and enhancing market access for agricultural products. This chapter examines the potentials and challenges of contract farming (CF) in Tanzania. In 2006, under the World Bank’s Participatory Agricultural Development and Empowerment Project, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Cooperatives carried out a study entitled ‘ CF: Status and Prospects for Tanzania’. Research on related issues in Tanzania is quite limited, both in terms of the number of crops covered and the level of detail. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
