Poverty in Tanzania is very substantially located in rural areas where most of the population lives. Nearly 70% of employment is in agriculture, mostly dependent on rainfed crops with poor access to transport, market knowledge and credit. Food sufficiency therefore varies considerably; in good years the country may enjoy a surplus beyond its needs. However, 40% of the population lives in areas described by the World Food Programme as “chronic food-deficit regions” where rainfall is scarce and irregular.

Over 20% of young children are underweight and malnutrition is the cause of about 25% of child mortality. Rural households spend 66% of their incomes on food and will have struggled to maintain their normal diet as prices of staple foods and fuel rose during 2008. The vuli rainy season for the end of 2008 has been reported as below average, suggesting that 2009 will be another difficult year. It is not surprising that the government is under pressure to review its enthusiasm for proposals to sell land to foreign investors to grow biofuel crops such as sugarcane and jatropha.

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