Potato Council of Tanzania · Baraza la Viazi Tanzania Registered under BRELA · 27 June 2024
EST. 27 JUNE 2024 4 AGCOT CORRIDORS 500K+ HOUSEHOLDS 2.78M TONNES · 2023/24
The Official Industry Body

From field to Chipsi Mayai—Tanzania's potato story belongs to the world.

The Potato Council of Tanzania is the unifying voice of the nation's potato value chain — connecting smallholder farmers across Tanzania's four AGCOT corridors — Southern, Northern, Central and Mtwara — to processors, exporters, urban kitchens, and the millions of plates of Chipsi Mayai served every day.

"Treating farming as a business — and doing the right things at the right time, the right way, and the right place." Isowelo AMCOS · Lead Farmer Cluster, Southern Highlands
2.78M
Tonnes harvested 2023/24
+89.1%
Year-on-year growth
500K+
Tanzanian farmer households
6.4%
Of Africa's total output
"
Chipsi Mayai — the potato omelette born in the food stalls of Dar es Salaam in the 1980s — is now Tanzania's unofficial national dish. Every plate is a quiet handshake between a smallholder in Mbeya and a city worker on Samora Avenue.
Why we are called Chipsmayai
What We Do

Six mandates. One mission.

From the seed lab to the supermarket shelf — the Council works across every link of the value chain, with a single goal: to make Tanzanian potato farming resilient, profitable, and sustainable.

— 01

Policy Advocacy

Shepherding the National Round Potato Development Strategy through final stakeholder validation — Tanzania's first comprehensive policy framework for the sector.

— 02

Regional Integration

Tanzania's official voice in the Jumuiya Potato Platform — harmonising EAC seed regulations and unlocking export corridors to Kenya, Comoros, Zanzibar, and beyond.

— 03

Farmer Capacity

Mkulima kwa Mkulima — peer-to-peer extension that has lifted yields from 3.2 to 15 MT per acre in priority clusters across the Southern Highlands.

— 04

Value Chain

Connecting input suppliers, seed multipliers, smallholders, traders, processors, exporters, and financiers into functional, profitable networks.

— 05

Quality & Standards

Building seed certification, grading, and traceability — ending the lumbesa system and turning Tanzanian potatoes into a premium regional brand.

— 06

Climate Resilience

Drought-tolerant varieties, drip irrigation, soil conservation — preparing the sector for a future where the rains are no longer predictable.

National Delivery

Four corridors. One value chain.

On 27 April 2025, SAGCOT was expanded into a nationwide platform — the Agricultural Growth Corridors of Tanzania (AGCOT). The change was structural, not cosmetic. The PCT now operates as the cross-corridor coordinator for the potato sector, ensuring no producing region is left outside the national conversation.

⬢ Southern Corridor

The Heartland

Iringa · Mbeya · Njombe · Songwe · Rukwa · Ruvuma · Morogoro

Produces. 70–80% of national output. Ihemi, Kilombero, Mbarali, Sumbawanga, Ludewa & Rufiji clusters anchor Tanzania's certified seed and ware potato supply.
⬢ Northern Corridor

The Gateway

Arusha · Kilimanjaro · Manyara · Tanga

Moves. 20–30% of output and Tanzania's natural conduit to the Kenyan market via Namanga and Holili. Cross-border seed and ware trade flow through here.
⬢ Central Corridor

The Frontier

Dodoma · Singida · Tabora · Shinyanga

Diversifies. Emerging zone for biofortified and drought-tolerant varieties. NAGITA irrigation infrastructure unlocks year-round production capability.
⬢ Mtwara Corridor

The Coast

Mtwara · Lindi · Pwani (Coast)

Processes & exports. Lowland-adapted variety trials for the Dar es Salaam Chipsi Mayai economy and Mtwara Port logistics for processed exports across the Indian Ocean.
Not Mbeya, Iringa and Njombe alone — but every corridor, every cluster, every farmer linked to the same vision.
Strategic Backdrop

The most ambitious agricultural agenda in Tanzania's history.

The Council operates within four converging policy frameworks — together giving the potato sector unprecedented certainty and capital commitment.

2017/18 – 2027/28

ASDP II

One priority crop per Agro-Ecological Zone — potatoes prioritised across five zones.

To 2030

Agenda 10/30

10% annual agricultural growth target — driven by inputs, irrigation, and mechanisation.

2026/27 – 2030/31

FYDP IV

TZS 10 trillion NAGITA programme — cold-chain, agro-logistics, feeder roads.

To 2050

AMP 2050

USD 100 billion harvest — Tanzania as Africa's breadbasket.

From the Field

Latest from the corridors.

Sector reports, field activity, and stories from the cluster meetings. Updated continuously by the Council editorial team.

⬢ Featured

The world comes to the region.

— Naivasha, Kenya · 26–30 October 2026 —

For the first time ever in Sub-Saharan Africa, the 13th World Potato Congress convenes in Naivasha, Kenya — bringing together 1,000+ delegates from 60+ countries. As a neighbouring nation and one of Africa's leading potato producers, Tanzania's role is to participate fully: sending a strong delegation across all four AGCOT corridors, ready to do business with the global potato community gathered an hour from our northern border.

Join the Tanzanian delegation →
Become a Member

A national platform — for everyone in the potato value chain.

Smallholder cooperatives, seed multipliers, processors, exporters, financiers, agro-input firms, regulators, researchers — all under one roof, working from the same vision.

Apply for membership →