Enhance Market Access for Horticultural Product(TAHA Project)

Period: April 2024 – June 2026
Countries: Tanzania
Implementing partners: Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA) - implementing partner · Government of Tanzania institutions and regulators · Private-sector buyers and service providers within the horticulture ecosystem
Participants: • Smallholder horticulture farmers, farmer groups, and cooperatives • Export-oriented horticultural firms and MSMEs • Women and youth engaged across horticulture value chains

Project rationale

Horticulture is one of Tanzania’s fastest-growing agricultural sectors, with clear potential for job creation, export diversification, and income growth. Yet smallholder farmers and agribusinesses have faced persistent barriers to market access- weak compliance with international standards, limited market linkages, and insufficient support for women and youth participation. TMA supports TAHA under the Trade and Competitiveness Programme to address these constraints. The intervention strengthens Tanzania’s horticulture value chains by improving compliance with food safety and quality standards, connecting producers to regional and international buyers, and translating trade openness into inclusive, measurable growth.

Target Results

Improved market access for Tanzanian horticultural products in regional and international markets
Stronger compliance with food safety, quality, and phytosanitary standards
Improved farmer incomes and enterprise competitiveness
Strengthened coordination, governance, and compliance across horticulture value chains

Implementation strategy

The project is implemented through a value-chain approach, combining policy engagement, enterprise support, standards compliance, and market linkages:

Capacity Building and Compliance: Training farmers and firms in food safety, GlobalG.A.P., climate-smart agriculture, and good agricultural practices to meet export requirements and sustain buyer relationships.
Market Linkage and Aggregation: Connecting compliant farmer groups and firms to domestic, regional, and international buyers through TAHA’s membership network, reducing reliance on informal intermediaries.
Standards and Systems Strengthening: Supporting the harmonisation of standards and adoption of quality systems to reduce technical barriers to trade and improve consistency across value chains.
Private Sector-Led Delivery: Leveraging TAHA’s role as a sector association to deliver services, coordinate with government and regulators, and sustain advocacy for an enabling policy environment.

Elibariki Shammy, Country Director, Tanzania

Expected outcomes

Improved market access for Tanzanian horticultural products in regional and international market
Stronger compliance with food safety, quality, and phytosanitary standards
Improved farmer incomes and enterprise competitiveness
Strengthened coordination, governance, and compliance across horticulture value chains
10,500 farmers -71% women, 39% youth- were linked to markets, selling 49,136 tonnes of horticultural produce valued at TZS 64.9 billion in FY 2024-25.
Approximately 3,100 jobs were sustained across supported value chains, reflecting improved business continuity and market access.
Six standards in cereals and pulses, including rice, maize, soybeans, and chickpeas were harmonised, reducing technical barriers to trade.
880 farmers were trained in climate-smart agriculture, 523 in food safety standards, and 221 in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), with adoption rates exceeding 90%.