The voices of smallholders and women in Tanzania’s agricultural corridor

Abstract

The Tanzanian government created the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) with the vision of modernising and commercialising agriculture in Tanzania and thereby bringing about a ‘green revolution’. However, the SAGCOT policy documents do not explicitly state how the corridor would improve smallholders’ participation,voice, and governance in the agricultural sector. Smallholder producers, particularly women, are concerned about the potential impact the growth corridor will have their access to use, control and ownership of land and other natural resource rights. Smallholders lack clarity on how they will be adequately compensated. And whether new settlement areas will be provided – if the land they are using for agriculture and grazing is allocated to investors.