World Bank provides $70m financing for Tanzanian supply chain

The World Bank has approved a $70 million financing package for Tanzania’s agriculture sector.

The financing, which comes from the bank’s International Development Association, will aim to link 100,000 smallholders up to  40 agribusinesses, according to a press release.

The project intends to encourage agribusinesses to partner with smallholders, such as through matching grants for capital and operational costs. This should help farmers participate in competitive agricultural supply chains, according to the World Bank.

More than 80 percent of the poor and extreme poor in Tanzania live in rural areas, according to the organisation.

“Smallholder farmers play a central role in Tanzania’s agricultural sector,” said World Bank country director for Tanzania Bella Bird. “The investment project has the potential to be transformational as it will provide them with crucial access to capital and new technology needed to invest in higher value production, promote their livelihoods and meet their nutritional needs.”