Plans, Promises and Problems with Privatization in Tanzania

Abstract

It is the considered opinion of the World Bank and some developed nations like the United States that the process of privatizing Tanzania's resources (primarily its land and water), in a systematic title process that extends full ownership, will lead to increased agricultural production and greater food security. It is believed that the full implementation of private ownership will attract much needed foreign investment while at the same time allowing local farmers to obtain credit by using their land title as collateral to borrow money to plant cash crops and modernize their farming operations to include mechanization and technical upgrades. Furthermore, proponents of this process of privatization believe that it will expand the tax base and provide a much-needed boost to State revenues for social services. These idealized notions are far from the reality confronting most Tanzanian farmers. This paper intends to show that the process of privatization will be of little benefit to Tanzanian farmers; leaving open the question of who will really benefit from privatization. It is the contention of this author that encouraging ownership by title, as part and parcel of the process of privatization, will actually compromise food security in Tanzania in the long run unless a systematic financing of farmer-led co-operatives precedes it.