09
Jul
Tanzania at a Crossroads, Building an Organic Future after Decades of Toxic Pollution
(Beyond Pesticides, July 9, 2025) Policymakers in Tanzania are calling for increased investments in organic agriculture for the 2025/26 fiscal year budget, demonstrating the increase in political will to advance new systems of farming and land management after decades of relying on Green Revolution-style, or chemical-intensive, policies. On June 20, various ministers representing the national government presented speeches to Parliament on the national government’s plan and budget recommendations, as well as highlighting the previous fiscal year’s trends and use of funds. Â
Political and popular support for organic agricultural systems has gained momentum across the globe. Worldwide, organic farming practices quadrupled from 2000 to 2018, with over 180 countries supporting a global transition to organic agriculture. Newly published global survey data by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements – Organics International (IFOAM) reveal global organic agriculture to be at an all-time high, with 71.5 million hectares of farmland in production as of 2020. (See Daily News here). Farmer and agricultural cooperatives around the world, from Brazil to Madagascar and Togo, leverage organic systems to develop competitive business models in regional, national, and international markets. (See Daily News here.) The European Union, with the goal of 25 percent of all European farmland certified organic by 2030, just released a new nearly 5 million euro initiative (OrganicClimateNet) to support farmers and supply chains in reaching this goal. (See Daily News here.)
According to reporting in the Tanzania-based outlet The Citizen, “Special Seats MP [Member of Parliament] Asha Juma (Chama Cha Mapinduzi, the ruling political party in the nation) called for more sustainable farming methods, advocating for a gradual transition away from chemical imports toward organic agriculture: ‘Let’s protect our land and adopt organic farming.’†MP Juma continues, “If we reduce reliance on imported chemicals and shift to organic practices, we will safeguard the environment and enhance long-term soil fertility.â€
“Tanzania’s budget spending will increase by about 12% next fiscal year to roughly 56.5 trillion Tanzanian shillings ($22 billion), driven by efforts to complete flagship infrastructure projects, Finance Minister Mwigulu Nchemba said on Thursday [June 12,]†based on reporting by Reuters. In addition to recognizing the importance of the country’s National Ecological Organic Agriculture Strategy (NEOS) (2023-2030), MP Juma’s enthusiasm to double down on organic stems from Minister Mchemba’s rosy outlook on the growth of the national agricultural sector from 2.7 percent of GDP in 2022 to 4 percent in 2024 and crop production increasing from 17.1 million tons to over 22.8 million tons in that same period.
Tanzania, like many nations, is at a crossroads in the direction it may choose in leading sustainable forms of land management and agriculture that move beyond the chemical-intensive status quo. The development of national strategies and goals for organic agriculture is a step in the right direction that advocates in the United States have been calling for elected officials to embrace. However, goals for organic transition remain elusive under the national political leadership.
National Ecological Organic Agriculture Strategy
NEOS, published in September 2023, builds on regional goals to expand organic farming via the African Union’s Decision on Organic Farming (2010) and Ecological Organic Agriculture Initiative (EOAI) in Eastern Africa.
The stated core values of NEOAS are ninefold and “anchored around sustainable ecological organic agricultural practices.†The policy seeks to:
- Enhance biodiversity in view of nature conservation and sustainable development.
- Promote farming systems that incorporate indigenous knowledge.
- Promote environmental conservation.
- Embrace fairness and justice to the ecosystem.
- Improve and secure farmers’ market access and livelihoods.
- Promote safe, nutritious, and healthy food.
- Protect nature and water sources.
- Reduce climate impacts from farming and improve resilience to climate change.
- Enhance and protect indigenous and improved EOA [ecological organic agriculture] seeds/breeds.
Moreover, the Strategy lays out 12 objectives to be carried out by 2030:
- Enhance capacity of institutions for research, training, and extension systems in developing and disseminating appropriate EOA technologies and practices.
- Promote availability and accessibility of EOA inputs and appropriate farm machineries (tools, equipment, and implements)
- Strengthen Information and Communication Technology (ICT) system to access and disseminate appropriate EOA information.
- Strengthening networking, capacity in EOA sub-sector organizations and institutional coordination framework.
- Ensure compliance of standards and certification of EOA products at an affordable cost.
- Facilitate development of EOA value chains.
- Strengthen environmental conservation using Ecosystem-based Adaptation and Nature-based Solutions.
- Mainstream cross-cutting issues in EOA sub-sector.
- Facilitate acquisition and accessibility of financial resources for EOA investment.
- Facilitate development and use of irrigation infrastructure in EOA production systems.
- Enhance availability, accessibility, and utilization of land for EOA
- Increase the business and trade volumes of EOA products in the national, regiona,l and international markets.
The rationale for developing this guiding strategy, as outlined in the founding document, centers around advancing food sovereignty in an ecologically sustainable manner, lifting communities out of poverty, and encouraging stronger competition in national and international markets. Minister of Agriculture Hussein Mohamed Bashe, in his presentation to Parliament, shared that the government continues to implement NEOAS through several interventions, including organizing farmer field schools, formulating guidelines and standards for certification, and determining access to national and international markets through various farmer organizations in the organic sector, including Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement, which is referenced in NEOAS as a leading nonprofit group in this arena.
Another farmer-led organization contributing to the growth of organic in Tanzania, named Kilimo Kwanza (Swahili for Agriculture First), has highlighted the rise of organic production in Tanzania, as well as other African nations such as Kenya and Uganda, in “transforming their agricultural landscapes and positioning themselves as significant exporters of organic products.†In the context of Tanzania, the author notes, “Since the introduction of NEOAS, Tanzania’s agricultural budget dedicated to organic farming has increased fivefold.†The author continues: “This substantial investment has facilitated the growth of the organic sector, enabling farmers to adopt sustainable practices that avoid synthetic chemicals and embrace agroecological methods. The results have been significant, with Tanzania now recognized for its high-quality organic produce, including fruits, vegetables, and spices, in high demand in international markets​​.â€
Scientific Record of Pesticide and Chemical Harms in Tanzania
There are decades of peer-reviewed scientific literature, including in-depth research at scientific institutions within Tanzania, highlighting the human health and ecological risks of pesticide and chemical agents. In 1991, a study published in World Health Organization Bulletin and funded in part by the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with National Institute for Medical Research found the pyrethroid insecticide lambda-cyhalothrin “was associated with abnormal skin sensations on the face and, less frequently, with nose and throat irritation, sneezing, and coughing†among indoor spraying of the pesticide and associated exposure to inhabitants in those households. It is important to note that this study did not address long-term adverse effects associated with the pyrethroid, as documented in the scientific literature, including endocrine-disrupting potential and neurotoxicity in humans, as well as toxicity to bees, fish, and aquatic organisms.
A study in 2017, published in Environmental Research, tested mothers’ breast milk and associated health metrics of their infants and levels of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in maternal breast milk. Organochlorine (OC) pesticides and metabolites tested include dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites, dieldrin and PCBs. Two DDT metabolites, “p,p′-DDE and p,p′-DDT, were detected in 100% and 75% of the breast milk samples, respectively,†according to the abstract. “Dieldrin was detected in 66% of the samples.†The authors determined that “[t]he estimated daily intake (ng/kg body weight/day) of ∑DDTs, dieldrin and nondioxin-like PCBs (∑6PCBs) exceeded the provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI) in two, six and forty-eight of the nursing infants, respectively, suggesting potential health risks.†Head circumference of infants consuming this breast milk were also found to have head circumference “negatively associated†with one DDT metabolite in “female infants, suggesting that OC exposure during pregnancy may influence fetal growth.â€
Research on chronic health and disease has also been discussed in the scientific literature. While a recent literature review published in Scientific African found “scarce information on the association between pesticide exposures and chronic diseases in Tanzania†and no published study exploring this specific linkage as of 2022, there are various linkages between pesticide exposure and chronic illnesses in other parts of the globe listed in Table 3 of the study. The authors, which include academics based at Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology in Tanzania and Nutrition and Dietetics Kenyatta University in Kenya, indicate that the rise of non-communicable (NCD) diseases is a serious national public health problem “currently account[ing] for 33% of all death[s]†with “[a]bout 35,000 people…developing cancer yearly in Tanzania and the rate…expected to increase by 50% by 2030.†NCDs have disproportionately impacted young people and women. See previous Daily News, With Global Disease Rates Rising, Do Pesticides Take Some of the Blame? Science Says, “Yes.â€, for additional analysis.
A 2022 literature review published in Chemosphere, and conducted by Tanzania Industrial Research and Development Organization (generally regarded as a pro-industry perspective, per their mandate), identified studies signaling pesticide residues that fall under the legal threshold for safety concerns (per WHO, Environmental Protection Agency, and UN Food & Agriculture Organization limits), however there are noted exceptions. In a recent Daily News, U.S. Policy Allows Cancer-Causing Pesticide Use Even Though It Is Not Needed to Grow Food and Manage Land, Beyond Pesticides breaks down the failure of relying on risk-based regulatory models for protecting human health and the environment. See here also for the failure of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide Data Program in misleading the public on pesticide residues and the risks they impose on long-term health trends among consumers of U.S. produce and food products. The study does concede the thorny issue that various pesticides (DDT, endosulfan, and hexachlorocyclohexane [HCH]) have been detected in vegetation, food, and biota samples. It is important to note that approximately two-thirds of acute pesticide poisonings are under-reported and occupational poisonings are least common in women as opposed to men in Tanzania, according to a 2014 research report published in NeuroToxicology conducted by Tropical Pesticides Research Institute (Tanzania), Muhimbli University of Health and Allied Sciences (Tanzania), and School of Public Health & Family Medicine (South Africa).
Building on this point of pesticide residues in food consumed by the public, a 2018 study also published in Chemosphere and conducted by researchers at University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, found most pesticide residues in their study—which included aldrin, dieldrin, chlorpyrifos, fenitrothion, pirimiphos-methyl, DDT, endosulfan, and HCHs—are in excess of maximum residue limits (MRLs) among chicken kidney, liver and muscle samples from poultry farms in various agricultural-intensive regions of Tanzania. Researchers point to these findings as indications of “risks and concerns for livestock and public health.†Organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites (DDT, DDE, DDD, HCHs, dieldrin, heptachlor, chlordane, endrin and hexachlorobenzene [HCB]) have been detected in rainwater on the Kibaha Coast region of the nation, as identified in a 2015 Chemosphere study conducted by researchers at German institutions and University of Dar es Salaam in their respective chemical and environmental health departments. “The highest concentrations were found in samples collected in the vicinity of the contaminated site and the concentrations at other points showed a general even distribution suggesting repeated volatilization and deposition mechanisms,†note the authors. They continue: “The strong positive correlations in the concentrations of the compounds indicated a common source.â€
See previous Daily News here and here to learn more about nature-based solutions to move beyond synthetic agrochemicals for ecosystem management in the Lake Victoria region, as well as the synergistic impacts that pesticide run-off imposes on infectious human diseases like snail fever (schistosomiasis).
Call to Action
It is imperative to move beyond reliance on toxic petrochemical-based practices and toward an organic future. This requires calling on regulatory agencies like EPA to meet its statutory obligations under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). See here to take action today!
All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides. Â
Source: The Citizen
