A fresh wave of commercial farm invasions is threatening Tanzania’s horticultural exports and could drive away foreign investors from the multimillion-dollar industry.

The recent Zimbabwean-style violent land grabs in the northern tourist circuit could force out more than 30 commercial farmers who inherited properties in Meru from their grandfathers before Tanganyika’s independence. There are currently 55 commercial farmers in Meru who are engaged in horticultural farming.

The “land reform,” which started out as political posturing in the campaigns before the recent by-election in Arumeru East constituency in Arusha, has turned into a frightening reality. The candidates for both the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and its rival Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) had promised to seize big tracts of land owned by investors and distribute them to landless villagers.

Apparently, the land-hungry villagers living on the slopes of Mount Meru took them at their word and have now begun to occupy the horticultural farms. The commercial farmers association says that threats of eviction have been received by more than 20 horticultural farms with a collective annual output of nearly $300 million, employing around 467,000 local people.
Commercial horticulture is mainly concentrated in northern Tanzania, with more than 85 per cent of big investments being located in Arusha and Kilimanjaro.

At stake is the entire Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) scheme, which is expected to see various stakeholders investing more than $3.4 billion to triple agricultural output over a 20-year period, achieving food security for the region, creating 420,000 jobs and lifting two million people out of poverty.

The SAGCOT initiative will cover approximately 350,000 hectares of land, helping tens of thousands of smallholders to become commercial farmers, with access to irrigation and weather insurance.

The United States Agency for International Development has already committed $2 million to the corridor’s $50 million Catalytic Fund.

USAid will dedicate between 50 and 80 per cent of overall Feed the Future funding for Tanzania to activities in the corridor.
The animosity against the settlers who run large-scale farms escalated recently when villagers in Meru district invaded Mito Miwili Farm owned by Pulses and Agro Commodities Company; armed guards drove them away, shooting dead a 32-year-old man identified as Noel Godson.

Arusha Regional Police Commander Thobias Andengenye confirmed the incident, which happened on the night of April 28, adding that about 40 invaders armed with bows and arrows, knives, swords, spears and axes set the farmhouse ablaze and destroyed four tractors and a barn.

The invaders allegedly also looted whatever they could lay their hands on. Authorities as well as farm owners are still calculating the value of the vandalised and stolen property.

Dolly Estate in Maji ya Chai also recently saw its gate and part of an electric fence torn down by a mob from a neighbouring village who claimed that the land belonged to them.

Another group of armed villagers from Nduruma, Nkoanrua and Akheri occupied a farm belonging to Machumba Estate and attempted to divide it among themselves. Riot police stepped in to evict them.

The EastAfrican has been informed that since then, there has been an increased number of disruptions on farms, with villagers arriving on farms and claiming immediate access to the crop.

The executive director of the Tanzania Horticultural Association, Jacqueline Mkindi, condemned the farm invasions, adding that the association is working around the clock to ensure investors are secure.

She said the sector is well established in Tanzania, with a number of international investors from Holland and other parts of Europe, and well-organised sectoral associations promoting co-ordination with the government and international donors.
Tanzania’s national production of fruits and vegetables is estimated at 1.54 million metric tonnes, of which vegetables account for nearly 780,000 tonnes while fruits accounted for about 766,000 tonnes.

The horticultural industry is one of the country’s major foreign currency earners, bringing in about $385 million annually — equivalent to 40 per cent of all agricultural exports and about 9 per cent of total export earnings. The sector has been growing at 9-10 per cent per year, making it one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy.