The Agricultural Economy of Tanganyika

Excerpts from the report Summary: Agriculture is vital to Tanganyika's economy and development. Over 90 percent of its 9.8 million population is engaged in farming (including livestock raising). The agricultural sector of the economy accounts for over 70 percent of the gross domestic product of the country. About 81 percent of the country's total export earnings are from agricultural products. Ninety percent of the land under cultivation is devoted to the production of grains and other food crops for local consumption, mainly on a subsistence basis. Tanganyika's natural resources are limited and capital is needed to meet its development requirements. The economy of Tanganyika has developed primarily through the expansion of cash crops for export. Exports take about a quarter of all the goods and services produced and generate about 40 percent of money income in the country. However, as long as the country's economic development is dependent upon imports of manufactured and industrial goods, Tanganyika will have to continue to seek and increase export markets for its cash crops in order to earn needed foreign exchange. Sisal, cotton, and coffee dominate the country's trade and economy. They accounted for about 55 percent of the value of all exports in 1962. Sisal, primarily a European plantation crop, supplies over one-fourth of total exports by value. The United Kingdom is Tanganyika's major customer; it took 34 percent of Tanganyika's exports in 1962. West Germany is second and the United States is third, each taking about 8 percent of the country's exports in 1962. The United States is Tanganyika's major customer for coffee, taking over 10,000 tons annually valued at $6 million.