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Tanzania

WFP Tanzania Country Brief, December 2024

Attachments

In Numbers

USD 10.4 million six-month net funding requirement (December 2024 – May 2025) representing 23 percent of total requirements

148,046 mt of food commodities procured since the beginning of 2024

341,517 Tanzanians and refugees benefited from WFP’s humanitarian and development interventions since the beginning of 2024

Operational Updates

Refugees and Host Communities: WFP Tanzania participated virtually in the Tripartite Commission meeting on the Voluntary Repatriation of Burundian Refugees living in Tanzania. The meeting, held in Bujumbura, Burundi, was co-chaired by the Government of Tanzania, the Government of Burundi, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. A joint communiqué was signed to continue promoting voluntary repatriation, targeting 3,000 returnees per week.
In collaboration with OffgridSun, WFP successfully produced, delivered, and stored 5,000 improved cookstoves, branded as ‘Jiko Rafiki,’ in the Kasulu and Kibondo districts. These cookstoves are designed to enhance daily cooking practices in host communities by improving energy efficiency and reducing environmental impact. As part of its sustainability strategy, the project aims to generate carbon credits by reducing emissions through the use of these improved stoves. The revenue from carbon credits will be reinvested into the project to support its scaling up. To further maximize impact, the initiative includes plans for training sessions, awareness campaigns, and the distribution of the cookstoves to households in early 2025.
Nutrition: As part of the Kigoma Joint Programme II, WFP, in collaboration with the Kigoma Regional Secretariat, took a step towards improving nutrition in Tanzania by assessing the capacity of selected maize millers to initiate fortification activities. This evaluation not only gauged millers' readiness but also paved the way for enhanced access to fortified food commodities, aiming to address critical micronutrient deficiencies. To support this effort, WFP prepared to equip the millers with dosifiers and pre-mix, setting the stage for continuous technical guidance in partnership with regional experts.
School–Based Programmes: WFP conducted consultations for the School Health and Nutrition Project in Lindi and Mtwara regions. The team collaborated with six selected local government authorities to introduce the project design and select schools for participation. The selected schools, which include both primary and secondary education learners, are set to benefit from a comprehensive package of interventions delivered through a collaboration between WFP and the Government using established structures.
Research, Assessment, and Monitoring: WFP has concluded the final 2024 round of remote food security monitoring across 30 key districts in Tanzania, including 25 on the mainland and 5 in Zanzibar. Data analysis is ongoing, with a draft report expected by mid-January 2025.

Resilience Building: Under the Vijana Kilimo Biashara (VKB) project, WFP strengthened youth enterprises and improved agricultural practices across multiple regions. In Arusha and Manyara, WFP supported 21 youth enterprises by providing business development services and training 205 farmers in marketing skills to boost business performance and enhance harvest sales. Additionally, 1,142 farmers adopted good agricultural practices (GAP) through WFP’s support.
In Simiyu, Shinyanga, and Tabora, 4,344 farmers received GAP training. WFP also trained 31 youths in quality declared seeds (QDS) production as an income-generating activity, in coordination with the Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute. Female farmers procured 105 planters and one weeder through WFP’s collaboration with a civil society partner and were connected to agro-dealers in the region. In Dodoma and Singida,
WFP partnered with the Tanzanian government’s Building a Better Tomorrow program to promote QDS farming among youth farmers.
Under the Muki project, resilience partners—including the Danish Refugee Council, Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania, and We World—applied regenerative agriculture techniques gained during training sessions held in October and November 2024.
These techniques were implemented in Kasulu, Kibondo, Chamwino, Simanjiro, and Micheweni. Activities such as regenerative agriculture, permagardens, and kitchen gardens complemented efforts to introduce indigenous crops, enriching soil health, boosting biodiversity, and empowering vulnerable communities to rebuild resilience and sustain their livelihoods.
In the Kigoma region, WFP and the Danish Refugee Council collaborated to train 2,394 smallholder farmers—96 percent of the targeted 2,500—from 10 project villages in climate-smart agriculture. Through these hands-on sessions, farmers developed expertise in permagardening and received key inputs for establishing kitchen gardens. These initiatives aim to strengthen community resilience and promote sustainable agricultural practices, laying the foundation for improved livelihoods and long-term food security.
Supply Chain: WFP officially handed over the Isaka Logistics Hub to the Government of Tanzania through the Kahama District Commissioner’s Office. Established in the early 1990s to support humanitarian efforts, the hub served as a vital logistics link for transporting and distributing food supplies to refugee camps and regional destinations. Over the years, it also became a hub for consolidating locally sourced food for distribution across East and Central Africa. Spanning 29,450 square meters, the facility features railway sidings, storage units, and administrative buildings. It created significant employment opportunities for the local community, particularly for women and youth, while supporting regional economic activity. This handover follows the merger of the WFP Isaka and Dodoma logistics hubs, aimed at strengthening management of the Tanzania corridor by leveraging Dodoma’s central geographic location and its status as the nation’s capital.