Tanzania’s food self-sufficiency ratio has reportedly increased to 133 per cent for the 2025/2026 agricultural season, up from 130 per cent in 2024/2025, as the government seeks to consolidate domestic food production gains while addressing persistent malnutrition and stunting among children.
Tanga Regional Commissioner Batilda Buriani announced the figures on October 10, 2026, while briefing journalists ahead of national World Food Day celebrations scheduled for October 16 in Tanga.
The reported figure is a measure of food self-sufficiency, not a 133 per cent increase in production. A ratio above 100 per cent indicates that domestic food production exceeds estimated national requirements under the calculation used. It does not mean that every household has reliable access to sufficient, nutritious food.
The distinction is important because Tanzania’s latest published production figures show more modest year-on-year growth. According to the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget presentation, food-crop production reached 23.78 million tonnes in the 2024/2025 season, compared with 22.80 million tonnes in 2023/2024, representing an increase of approximately 4.3 per cent. The ministry reported a food self-sufficiency ratio of 130 per cent for 2024/2025.
The new 133 per cent figure therefore suggests a further improvement in the balance between domestic food supplies and estimated requirements. However, a detailed official breakdown showing the production volumes, consumption estimates and methodology behind the latest ratio was not available in the sources reviewed.
Buriani said improved food availability had not eliminated the country’s nutritional challenges. Malnutrition and stunting among young children remain concerns, prompting the government to pursue interventions that address both the quantity and nutritional quality of food consumed.
The government is promoting biofortification through agricultural research institutions. The approach involves developing crop varieties with enhanced nutritional content, helping increase the availability of essential nutrients through commonly consumed foods. Officials also highlighted industrial food fortification, which adds vitamins and minerals to processed products, including maize flour.
These interventions address a different dimension of food security from production alone. A country may produce enough food in aggregate while some households still face inadequate diets because of poverty, food prices, limited dietary diversity or poor access to nutritious products.
Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture has also linked its food-production gains to wider efforts to improve agricultural productivity and resilience. Its policy priorities include more effective extension services, improved agricultural technologies and stronger links between research institutions and farmers. These measures are intended to help producers adopt practices and crop varieties that can improve output and, in the case of biofortification, nutritional value.
The next challenge is to ensure that aggregate production gains translate into reliable supplies throughout the year and better access to nutritious food across rural and urban communities. Production and self-sufficiency figures need to be considered alongside post-harvest losses, storage, distribution, food prices and household purchasing power.
NBF Insight
Tanzania’s reported 133 per cent food self-sufficiency ratio is an encouraging indicator of domestic food availability, but it should not be mistaken for a 133 per cent increase in production or proof that hunger and malnutrition have been resolved.
The country’s published figures show that food-crop production increased by about 4.3 per cent between the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 seasons. The latest reported self-sufficiency ratio points to a further improvement, although its underlying calculations require more detailed public disclosure.
The bigger question is whether surplus production can be converted into better nutrition and more dependable access to food. That requires reducing losses after harvest, improving storage and distribution, keeping nutritious foods affordable and helping households diversify their diets.
For Tanzania, the next measure of agricultural progress should combine production and self-sufficiency with clearer evidence on food affordability, dietary quality and nutrition outcomes. Producing enough food is essential; ensuring people can access and benefit from it is the ultimate test of food security.
