Tanzania
| Full country name | United Republic of Tanzania | Republic of Ireland |
| Population | 38.5 million | 4.6 million |
| Area | 582,650 sq km | 70,273 sq km |
| Capital City | Dodoma (Dar es Salaam is the commercial capital) | Dublin |
| Language | Kiswahili (Swahili), English | English, Irish |
| Life Expectancy | 52.4 | 78 |
| HIV/AIDS Prevelance | 6.2% | 0.1% |
| Population below the poverty line | 36% | 4.2% |
Tanzania is probably best known for hosting some of Africa’s most famous landmarks including Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa, and the Serengeti National Park.
The mainland of Tanzania achieved independence from Britain in 1961 and united with Zanzibar in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is a politically stable country and, despite its popularity amongst tourists, also one of the world’s poorest. Most people rely on agriculture as an income but tourism is also an important revenue earner for the country.
World Vision Ireland works with three active Area Development Programmes (ADP) in Tanzania: Sanzawa, Mundemu and Ndala. Read more about impressive entrepreneurs and farmers in our ADP pages.
Kilimo Kwanza – Agriculture First
Agriculture plays a major part in Tanzanian life. In fact over 80% of the population depends on farming for their livelihood. In rural areas this figure rises to over 90%.
Most Tanzanians are small scale farmers who rely heavily on predictable rainfall. The current drought in the Horn of Africa together with erratic rainfall over the past years has made it difficult for them to harvest sufficient food to feed their families and to sell at the market to make an income. On top of this over 70% of farmers still rely on traditional methods, meaning they use labour-intensive tools like hand hoes and do not have appropriate storage systems for crops when harvested.
World Vision is working with the Government on their ‘Kilimo Kwanza’ (Agriculture First) policy which aims to modernise the agriculture sector in Tanzania. This initiative aims to help farmers to move away from rain-dependent crops to more drought tolerant ones. Households are taught to build irrigation systems to make the most of limited water, develop vegetable gardens and on the use of drought-tolerant seeds.
Farming groups are encouraged and build a support network for farmers teaching storage and preservation techniques. These projects are already showing improvements in food security for households, and farmers are increasing the market value of the produce. We are now also linking farmers to micro-credit (small loan) facilities, allowing them to expand and diversify their businesses.
View World Vision Ireland Tanzanian ADPs in a larger map
