The country is the second largest producer of rice in Eastern and Southern Africa after Madagascar. In 2017/18, rice was cultivated on 1.1 million ha. with total production of 2.2 million tons of milled rice. About 71, 20, and 9 percent of rice cultivation takes place under rainfed lowland, upland, and irrigated conditions, respectively.

Tanzania’s National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS), which was endorsed by the government in 2008, envisions progressively transforming the existing subsistence-dominated rice sub-sector into a commercially viable production system, with the aim of sustaining the national self sufficiency and contributing to the regional self-sufficiency, becoming a market leader in the region. The government is now finalizing Phase 2 of their NRDS 2019-2030.