Hand-in-Hand Initiative in Action: Ensuring Tanzanian Youth Are Not Left Behind

The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar, is transforming its agrifood sector to be greener, more productive, profitable, and inclusive. One pillar of this vision is creating attractive entrepreneurial opportunities for youth. During the 2023 Africa Food Systems Forum, the country’s President launched the six-year Building a Better Tomorrow Youth Initiative—a move aimed at engaging more than 1.6 million youth in the agribusiness sector.

The United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar, has a young population. However, youth, often perceived as a high-risk group, face obstacles in accessing land and credit. As part of Building a Better Tomorrow, the Government is utilizing underutilized land to create block farms—an out-grower model complete with agroprocessing units, roads, electricity, and irrigation facilities.

To support this initiative, the World Bank has invested USD 300 million in Phase 2 of a multiphase food systems resilience programme for Eastern and Southern Africa, launched as a PforR in the United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar. The programme, designed with the Centre’s help, encourages greater adoption of climate-smart farming technologies and practices while also strengthening the delivery of agricultural services. IFAD plans to co-finance the programme with a USD 40 million loan, bringing a stronger focus on youth and horticulture.

The Centre helped design the activities under this loan, which will support young farmers on the mainland by strengthening financing for the development of climate-resilient agricultural technologies. It will also promote digital technologies for better extension outreach and advisory services and improve linkages in the seed value chain. By training youth on financial literacy, the programme aims to lift some of the barriers preventing greater uptake of new technologies.

On the island of Zanzibar, efforts will target seed breeding activities for horticulture crops, developing the skills of young researchers, promoting collaborative research with the mainland, and upgrading equipment and technologies for pest and disease control. It will also support the multiplication and market distribution of certified seed and strengthen the capacity of seed inspectors to use traceability systems to promote the use of certified seed. Improving marketing infrastructure and certification of fresh produce in line with market requirements aims to strengthen linkages between the island’s tourism industry and local farmers.

These activities demonstrate the ripple effect of the United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar's Hand-in-Hand vision, a government-owned and led initiative that aligns the country’s agrifood investment priorities with financing partners for greater impact.