Regional Markets

3 Cases
Photo: ©FAO/Simon Maina / FAO
3.9 Moving up in the export-oriented coffee
value chain in Tanzania
Anna H. Makundi
Introduction
First introduced in Tanzania by German missionaries
at the end of the 19th century, coffee
has become one of the country’s most important
export crops. In 2010, a total of 35 tons
of green coffee were exported, valued at USD
102 million (FAOSTAT 2010). Coffee is primarily
grown in the Kilimanjaro region in
the north, in Mbeya and Songea in the south;
and near Lake Victoria in the north-west.
According to the Tanzanian Coffee Board
(TCB) more than 95% of the coffee produced
in the country is grown by around 400,000
smallholder farmers (USAID 2010). There are
How an export commodity
influences local food security
Although this case describes the export-oriented
coffee value chain and as such is different
from most of the other cases, which
address local and regional markets, it does
show that an export-oriented commodity
can have an influence on local food security.
This case study investigates to which extent
the coffee value chain has had an impact on
food security and household incomes of the
people in Kilimanjaro region who are supported
by TechnoServe Tanzania.
two major coffee sorts, Arabica and Robusta. Arabica grows well in the highlands of
Kilimanjaro, Mbeya and Mbinga, while Robusta does well in the lowlands of Kigoma.
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