At this year’s Nane Nane event, an agricultural fair in Mbeya, Tanzania, the US government and Tanzania announced a new food security activity Tuhifadhi Chakula – “Let’s Save Food” of USAID. It is a five-year $24 million initiative to be implemented by the Tanzania Horticulture Association in partnership with the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) center.

The USAID “Let’s Save Food” project will, by targeting and reducing food loss and waste increase food security, improve livelihoods, increase employment, and generate export opportunities for Tanzania – especially among women and youth.

In Tanzania, crops are wasted between the farm and the final market at a rate of 40–50%. In order to reduce food loss and waste by half, USAID’s Let’s Save Food project will collaborate with farmers, dealers, processors, and other value-chain participants.  The National Post-Harvest Management Strategy of the Ministry of Agriculture was taken into consideration during the project’s creation.  The project will initially run in Tanzania’s regions of Arusha, Mbeya, Morogoro, Njombe, Pwani, Tanga, and Zanzibar.

Craig Hart, director of USAID’s Tanzania Mission, said during the Nane Nane celebration in Mbeya, “Today, we celebrate Tanzania’s significant strides in the agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors.”

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, Kilimo Tija (“Productive Agriculture”), the Private Sector Strengthening Activity, and other USAID Feed the Future Projects were among the ongoing USAID Feed the Future Projects that Mission Director Hart visited while in Mbeya. By supporting the private sector, advancing better technology, practices, and inputs, advancing horticulture, and encouraging value addition, these initiatives are concentrating on agriculture-led growth.

Tanzania’s status as a Feed the Future target country was recently renewed. Samantha Power, the administrator of USAID, reiterated the strong collaboration between the United States and Tanzania in regard to food security and nutrition, poverty alleviation, and agricultural growth during her visit to the nation in June. 

During a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Hussein Bashe, and at the Nane Nane celebration in Mbeya, Craig Hart, the recently appointed USAID/Tanzania Mission Director, also expressed his gratitude for the long-standing and beneficial relationship between USAID and Tanzania.