Tanzania - Agriculture Sample Census Survey 2007-2008

At th e end of the 2007/08 Agricultural Year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in collaboration with the Ministries of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Livestock and Fisheries Development; Water; Industry and Trade; the Prime Minister’s Office, Regi onal Administration and Local Government (P M O - RALG) and the Office of the Chief Government Statistician, (OCGS), Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Livestock and Fisheries conducted the 2007/08 Agricultur al Sample Census. This is the fourth A gricultur al Census to be carried out in Tanzania, the first one was conducted in 1971/72, the second in 1993/94 and 1994/95 (during 1993/94 data on household characteristics and livestock count were collected and data on crop area and production in 1994/95 ), and the third was conducted in 2002/03.

Agriculture is an important sector of the Tanzanian economy in terms of food production, employment generation, production of raw material for industries, and generation of foreign exchange ear nings. The agricultural sector produce d about 26 percent of GDP (Economic Survey, 20 08 ). Having a diversity of climatic and geographical zones, Tanzania’s farmers grow a wide variety of food and cash crops as well as fruit s , vegetables and spices.