Belarus agrees to extend agriculture mechanisation services to Tanzania.
The two countries agree to expand trade of cash crops.
Tanzania to adopt Belarus’ model of agro-mechanisation and after sale services.

Tanzania and Belarus have entered a second round of diplomatic talks for agriculture mechanisation and to expand its cash crop market particularly export of coffee, tea, cashew nuts and horticultural products. The development comes following this week’s state visit to Tanzania by the Belarus Speaker of the House of Representatives, Natalya Kochanova.

This state visit to Tanzania by a high ranking Belarus official is the second one in as many months following an April visit by Belarus Foreign Affairs Minister, Maxim Ryzhenkov, signalling growing momentum in bilateral trade and investment relations between the two countries.

In her meeting with Tanzania’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Gerald Mweli, Kochanova, the Belarus Speaker of the House of Representatives, said trade between the two countries exceeded $17 million in 2025. “We need to continue advancing our cooperation,” the official said.

She went on to point out that Belarus offers a wide spectrum of food basket options for import from Tanzania and it has state of the art sophisticated agricultural machinery. “We are ready to supply poultry meat, dairy products, and veterinary drugs as well as to share competences, including in training personnel in our specialized higher education institutions,” the diplomat detailed.

The officials of the two countries also highlighted the importance of technical exchange programmes between experts from Tanzania and Belarus. The exchange will include assembly and use of modern farming equipment as a key driver of agricultural transformation.

Target businesses in Tanzania-Belarus trade talks

Notably, as of last year, bilateral trade between the two countries was led by imports of Belarusian vegetable oils and meat and bone meal and export of Tanzanian coffee, flowers, and oilseeds. “Now it will be necessary to expand interaction across the board,” Kochanova asserted.

On behalf of Minister Daniel Chongolo, the Permanent Secretary said; “Our primary interest is agricultural mechanization. For this we need tractors, irrigation equipment, harvesting machinery and more. We are genuinely interested in what Belarus can offer us.”

In response to Tanzania’s request for agriculture mechanisation, Kochanova said Belarus is ready to supply agricultural machinery to Tanzania including tractors.

Speaking to press after their meeting, Mweli described the meeting as very productive and highlighted other areas of discussion to include partnership in value addition, modern farming technologies and increased private sector involvement.

The PS noted that while Tanzania is endowed with a vast amount of fertile land, however a significant part of it is not cultivated owing to the lack of agricultural machinery.

He said Tanzania is looking to set up a network of motor pools for sale and rent of equipment to small scale farmers and for after-sale maintenance services, an agricultural sector development design used by Belarus.

“This is an advantage we stand to gain from adopting the Belarusian model.,” he added.

“We have been impressed by the technologies and their practical applicability in our conditions. We especially appreciate that Belarus guarantees after-sales service for machines and vehicles,” the PS added.

He went on to announce planned visits of Tanzanian business missions to Belarus and promotion of academic exchanges for specialists to transfer best practices. He said Tanzania stands to gain from cooperation in skills building especially since Belarus has developed an extensive network of educational institutions covering most all sectors including agriculture.

photo 2026 06 04 15 57 52 2 — (Tanzania and Belarus have entered a second round of diplomatic talks for agriculture mechanisation and to expand its cash crop market particularly export of coffee, tea, cashew nuts and horticultural products. Photo/State House Tanzania)

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Tanzania and Belarus enter fertilizer production and trade agreements

In addition to agriculture mechanisation, the diplomatic talks between Tanzania and Belarus also covered investment opportunities in fertiliser production and trade. According to the official government statement, the two sides agreed on the establishment of manufacturing plants to serve Tanzania and neighbouring markets within the SADC and East African Community (EAC) regions.

Ahead of this week’s diplomatic meeting, Tanzania and Belarus had already signed two key Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) inked by private sector institutions from both countries. The MoU signing was done in April in Dar es Salaam during the earlier mentioned visit of Belarus Foreign Affairs Minister, Maxim Ryzhenkov.

The MoUs were signed by the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) and the Tanzania National Chamber of Commerce (TNCC), each of which entered into separate agreements with Belarus’ National Export Promotion Centre of Belarus.

In a press report from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, the MoUs will help strengthen business links by connecting entrepreneurs, institutions and investors from the two countries, and open up new economic opportunities between them.

The signed deals cover cooperation in the exchange of market information, investment promotion, organisation of business forums.

They also cover capacity building to enhance Tanzania’s innovation, skills and competitiveness in the global market. Short of specifying the exact products, the ministry statement said the private sector agreements will promote direct trade between Tanzanian and Belarusian companies.

The MoUs will also see the two sides deepen collaboration in joint market research, increased information sharing and expansion of export and import opportunities to increase trade efficiency and competitiveness.

“This underscores a shared commitment by Tanzania and Belarus to leverage private sector partnerships in driving economic diplomacy and unlocking new avenues for growth,” details the press report.