Tanzania will officially launch the ITRACOM Fertilizers plant in Nala, Dodoma on 28 June 2025, with President Samia Suluhu Hassan officiating the ceremony, Agriculture Minister Hussein Bashe announced on 11 June 2025.
The plant, which is already operational, is the country’s second fertilizer manufacturing facility and the largest in East Africa, with a total investment of USD 180 million.
It has the capacity to produce 1,000,000 tonnes of organo-mineral fertilizer annually, using technology that blends organic nutrients with mineral salts. The plant has so far generated 1,805 jobs.
Bashe also said that the Tanzanian government plans to purchase 200,000 tonnes of domestically produced fertilizer and 50,000 tonnes of agricultural lime for distribution to farmers who currently do not use fertilizer.
The aim is to boost fertilizer consumption and support local manufacturing by opening both domestic and international markets for Tanzanian-made fertilizer products.
The inauguration event will be attended by regional leaders, including the President of Burundi and ministers of agriculture from the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
ITRACOM Fertilizers Limited is a private investment in Tanzania’s growing fertilizer industry, which is a priority sector in the country’s agricultural development agenda.
The company is a subsidiary of FOMI Fertilizers, a Burundi-based Company responsible for manufacturing and distributing a mixture of organic and mineral fertilizers (organo-mineral fertilizers) in the Great Lakes Region countries of Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and the Republic of Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The initiative is part of efforts to increase fertilizer usage in Tanzania, where application rates remain low.
As of 2022, average fertilizer use stood at 19.1 kg/ha, compared to the global average of 133 kg/ha.
The government aims to boost agricultural productivity and reduce reliance on imports by supporting local production and improving distribution to underserved farmers.
