Tanzania has signed a deal with a Cuban firm, Labiofam S.A., to enlarge the Tanzania Biotech Products Limited (TBPL) plant in Kibaha to commence the production of biofertilizer and biolarvicide for malaria, marking a significant milestone in agricultural and health autonomy.
The initiative comes against a backdrop where Tanzania imports 90% of its fertilizers and also grapples with health-related threats from malaria. Accordingly, it is essentially a leap of technology and strategy as it cuts dependence on foreign-made goods while building a strong local manufacturing ecosystem.
Dr. Nicholas Shombe, NDC Managing Director, disclosed that TBPL is one of the initiatives considered toward the bigger plan of establishing up to ten biotech manufacturing sites by 2027. Capacity-wise, the site will manufacture 600 million liters of biofertilizer and six million liters of biolarvicide annually and thus alleviate forex outflows while creating employment locally.
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The Cuban side supports everything from technology transfer, training for product development, and long-term engagement. The project is also paving the way for Tanzania to eliminate malaria by 2030 and for the broader use of preventive inputs in sustainable farming.
Calling the agreement historic, Tanzania’s Ambassador to Cuba, Humphrey Polepole, remarked that the facility will only be the third of the kind in Africa and an example for the continent. He went on to outline how biotech will increase agricultural exports by improving food safety and phasing out detrimental chemical inputs.
He further pointed out that with Cuban technical expertise and Tanzania’s demand for sustainable solutions on the rise, the collaboration is set to turn the country onto a new path for food security, health, and industrial growth. The TBPL initiative brands Tanzania as a budding regional hub of environmental biotech production.
