The Minister of Labour, Mildred Oliphant, announced the increase on minimum wages for farmworkers from R69 per day to R105 per day, effective 1 March 2013. The announcement may lead to retrenchments and mechanisation.

The agriculture industry faces a range of challenges including climate change and global food shortages, which are increasing the labour and skills needs in agricultural industries.

“Disaster risk management is everybody’s business." These are the no-nonsense words of Ken Terry, head of disaster management at the national Department of Co-operative Governance.

The Tanzanian government has taken an aggressive, proactive approach to stimulate the growth of the country's agricultural sector, including the adoption of macro-economic policies to encourage investment in small- and large-scale commercial farming.

Whenever the topic of food security is mentioned, the immediate reactions tend to equate it with the capacity of the agricultural sector to supply enough food. However, this is an over-simplification: the issue is multifaceted and poses developmental questions that extend far beyond production.