TANZANIA - THE ENDLESS PLAINS

The United Republic of Tanzania is located on the East Coast of Africa, sharing borders with seven other countries: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Malawi and Mozambique. The Tanzanian coastline is nearly 1,500 kilometres long, stretching alongside the sparkling blue Indian Ocean. Just off the mainland sits the legendary island of Zanzibar.

Tanzania, like many coastal countries in the tropics, is a country of contrasts. The altitudes range from sea level to the highest point on the continent of Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro at 5,895 metres.

The country is a rich sanctuary for wildlife, including the great Serengeti National Park, (famous for its vast migratory herds of plains animals, notably wildebeest, zebra, eland and kudu) and Gombe National Park along Lake Tanganyika with small bands of chimpanzees.

Despite a richness in natural resources, agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, employing about 90% of the workforce, accounting for 57% of the Gross Domestic Product and 85% of exports. Staples are maize, rice and wheat. Main cash crops include coffee, (of which over 85% is grown by smallholders) cotton, tobacco, cashew nuts, tea and sisal. Zanzibar exports cloves and other spices.

Arabica coffee was introduced as a commercial crop in 1900 on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. This coffee accounts for nearly 75% of the 50,000 tons of coffee that Tanzania produces every year. It is now cultivated in practically all the highland regions of the country.

EAFCA members in Tanzania