Iringa Region
TL;DR
SAGCOT breadbasket with tomato yields up 7x through cluster farming model
Iringa anchors the SAGCOT corridor's Ihemi cluster—where tomato farmers increased yields from 7 to 28-50 tonnes per hectare since 2013. The Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor now accounts for 65% of Tanzania's food production. Two tomato processing plants have emerged in the cluster, eliminating imports. The November 2024 YEFFA program launch positioned Iringa, Njombe, and Ruvuma as the nation's "breadbasket" for youth agricultural entrepreneurship. The region's highlands produce both food crops (tomatoes, maize) and cash crops (tobacco, sunflowers)—demonstrating how public-private partnership can transform peasant farming into commercial agriculture.