The Tanzanian economy is heavily based on agriculture, which in 2013 accounted for 24.5 percent of gross domestic product, 37 provides 85% of exports, and accounted for half of the employed workforce; The agricultural sector grew 4.3 percent in 2012, less than half of the Millennium Development Goal target of 10.8 percent. 16.4 percent of the land is arable, with 2.4 percent of the land planted with permanent crops. Tanzania’s economy relies on farming, but climate change has impacted their farming.
Export Partners: Switzerland 15.1%, India 13.8%, South Africa, 12.4%, China 7%, Kenya 6.2%, Congo 5.7%, Belgium 5.6%. Main Imports: Machinery and transport equipments, worth about $8.464 billion in total.
Import partners: China 20.7%, India 18.1%, UAE 7.5%, South Africa 6%, Japan 4.7%
Labour Force-by occupation: Agriculture 66.9%, Industry 6.4%, Services: 26.6%.
Maize was the largest food crop on the Tanzania mainland in 2013 (5.17 million tonnes), followed by cassava (1.94 million tonnes), sweet potatoes (1.88 million tonnes), beans (1.64 million tonnes), bananas (1.31 million tonnes), rice (1.31 million tonnes), and millet (1.04 million tonnes). Sugar was the largest cash crop on the mainland in 2013 (296,679 tonnes), followed by cotton (241,198 tonnes), cashew nuts (126,000 tonnes), tobacco (86,877 tonnes), coffee (48,000 tonnes), sisal (37,368 tonnes), and tea (32,422 tonnes). Beef was the largest meat product on the mainland in 2013 (299,581 tonnes), followed by lamb/mutton (115,652 tonnes), chicken (87,408 tonnes), and pork (50,814 tonnes).
According to the 2002 National Irrigation Master Plan, 29.4 million hectares in Tanzania are suitable for irrigation farming; however, only 310,745 hectares were actually being irrigated in June 2011.
