The Build a Better Tomorrow (BBT) program is scaling down to district levels to reach more young people in both rural and urban areas, aiming to boost agricultural productivity, employment, and competitiveness among youth.
Speaking in Morogoro, Acting National Coordinator of BBT, Engineer Anitha James, said the program, funded by AGRA, started in the 2025/2026 fiscal year and builds on successes from model farms at Chinangali and Ndogowe in Dodoma Region.
“Currently, we are active in 20 councils across 10 regions, including Dodoma, Singida, Tabora, Kagera, Mara, Njombe, Geita, Mbeya, Pwani, and Katavi, with several councils already enrolling youth,” Engineer James said.
She highlighted that Muleba District in Kagera has enrolled over 282 youth in rice farming, while Kaliua District in Tabora has registered more than 300 youth for coffee farming.
Engineer James emphasized that these successes reflect strong collaboration between the government, development partners, and the private sector, with the program targeting over 10,000 youth by 2030 to ensure every young person has access to modern and productive agriculture.
Since its launch in 2022 and official inauguration by President Samia Suluhu Hassan in 2023, BBT has disbursed loans worth over TZS 600 million in partnership with private sector actors.
On value addition, Engineer James said the program, working with the Cashew Board, has enrolled 300 youth, providing training and enabling them to access raw materials and produce marketable agro-tourism products. Machinery for cashew processing has already reached Mkuranga District in Pwani and Mtwara Region.
The program also targets youth engagement in ginning services, with over 1,240 youth participating since 2024 in cotton, cashew, and avocado production. “In the cashew sector, ginning services have increased output from 100 tons to about 500 tons,” she noted.
Deputy Director for Planning and Budget at the Ministry of Agriculture, Mohamed Chikawe, representing the Permanent Secretary, said the government has invested in irrigation systems, boreholes, and processing machinery to reduce barriers facing youth.
“BBT has become a driver of youth-led agricultural transformation. By improving value chains, markets, capital access, and opportunities, the program addresses challenges of limited technology, land, and funding,” he said.
Private sector stakeholders, including Baraka Chambua of New Hope Community Development Organization and Edfin Tongora of Shambani Consultants Solutions, praised the program’s expansion to grassroots levels, saying it enhances youth and women’s participation and provides an enabling environment for them to run agribusinesses successfully.
Through coordinated efforts between the government, development partners, and the private sector, BBT aims to empower more than 10,000 youth by 2030, ensuring the next generation actively participates in modern agriculture.