DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA - Tanzania wants to turn 350,000 hectares into productive farmland to produce food crops both for domestic consumption and the surplus for exports.
Addressing the business community in Dar es Salaam when launching the Alliance of Businessman and Industrialist of Tanzania and Turkey (ABITAT) last week, President Jakaya Kikwete said the government has created the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) as a focus for transformation of agriculture.
Tanzania has more than 44 million hectares of arable land with climatic conditions that are agreeable to a variety of crops. Presently only six million hectares are under use.
“This corridor is well endowed with land, good weather and water….we want to increase the production of rice, maize, sugar, fruits, vegetables, pulses, cut-flowers and livestock keeping. Turkish investors can work with their Tanzania counterparts to invest in agriculture,” Kikwete said.
He challenged the leadership of ABITAT to explore the existing opportunities and exploit them for mutual benefit of the two countries.
He promised that his government was ready to assist. The president said the excellent relations between Tanzania and Turkey have increased bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
“ For example, since year 2005 the volume of trade has increased from shillings 12,384,000 ($7,618,607.8494 ) to shillings 196,826,000 ($121,086,895.076) in 2011,” Kikwete, said.
He said: “The increased trade has been further enhanced by the trade agreement signed between our two governments in 2010 as well as direct Turkish Airlines flights between our two countries.”
Kikwete said there is room for expanding economic and trade relations taking into consideration that Turkey has particular strength in textiles and clothing and Tanzania is growing cotton and sale most of it in its raw form.
“In this regard, the opportunity to invest in textile industry is huge. But there is much more in the manufacturing sector that Turkish investors can do. Tanzania has plenty of raw materials such as minerals, forest products, marine products, etc,” he noted. Indeed there are also opportunities in other sectors such as tourism and infrastructure including hotels, restaurants, energy, ports etc.
In order to make Tanzania the preferred destination for foreign direct investment, continuous improvements of business environment have been made in the country.
“As a result of our efforts, Tanzania is among countries in Africa that has competitive investment regime in terms of both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives as enshrined in our investment and related laws,” said the president.
In February 2010, President Kikwete addressed the Turkey-Tanzania
Business Forum in Istanbul to promote trade between the two countries, asking Turkish investors to look at Tanzania as a lucrative investment destination.
Addressing the business community in Dar es Salaam when launching the Alliance of Businessman and Industrialist of Tanzania and Turkey (ABITAT) last week, President Jakaya Kikwete said the government has created the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) as a focus for transformation of agriculture.
Tanzania has more than 44 million hectares of arable land with climatic conditions that are agreeable to a variety of crops. Presently only six million hectares are under use.
“This corridor is well endowed with land, good weather and water….we want to increase the production of rice, maize, sugar, fruits, vegetables, pulses, cut-flowers and livestock keeping. Turkish investors can work with their Tanzania counterparts to invest in agriculture,” Kikwete said.
He challenged the leadership of ABITAT to explore the existing opportunities and exploit them for mutual benefit of the two countries.
He promised that his government was ready to assist. The president said the excellent relations between Tanzania and Turkey have increased bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
“ For example, since year 2005 the volume of trade has increased from shillings 12,384,000 ($7,618,607.8494 ) to shillings 196,826,000 ($121,086,895.076) in 2011,” Kikwete, said.He said: “The increased trade has been further enhanced by the trade agreement signed between our two governments in 2010 as well as direct Turkish Airlines flights between our two countries.”
Kikwete said there is room for expanding economic and trade relations taking into consideration that Turkey has particular strength in textiles and clothing and Tanzania is growing cotton and sale most of it in its raw form.
“In this regard, the opportunity to invest in textile industry is huge. But there is much more in the manufacturing sector that Turkish investors can do. Tanzania has plenty of raw materials such as minerals, forest products, marine products, etc,” he noted. Indeed there are also opportunities in other sectors such as tourism and infrastructure including hotels, restaurants, energy, ports etc.
In order to make Tanzania the preferred destination for foreign direct investment, continuous improvements of business environment have been made in the country.
“As a result of our efforts, Tanzania is among countries in Africa that has competitive investment regime in terms of both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives as enshrined in our investment and related laws,” said the president.
In February 2010, President Kikwete addressed the Turkey-Tanzania
Business Forum in Istanbul to promote trade between the two countries, asking Turkish investors to look at Tanzania as a lucrative investment destination.
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