Developed in 1996 when the effects of climate change were yet to be felt, Tanzania’s Sustainable Industrial Development Policy (SIDP) has now become out of sync with the urgent need for synergising agro-processing development with other climate, trade and food security interventions. This study argues that the SIDP review set for 2020 should be seen as an opportunity to take up such synergies right from the design phase. In particular, it suggests concrete interventions in the areas of climate change, food security and trade which should be considered in the SIDP revision.
In recent years, there has been an increasingly renewed interest in industrial development policy review across the East African Countries (EAC) including Tanzania. This has been fostered by the incessant dynamics in the global economy and the advancement of technology and communication, climate change and the incongruity of the existing policy to the current national agenda, Tanzania in particular. Over two decades since its formulation, the current Sustainable Industrial Development Policy (SIDP), is confronted by great advancements that have taken place in and outside the industrial sector. These need to be considered to fit in the policy in accordance with the current national agenda of industrialisation. While the existing SIDP aimed at setting the path for the sustainable development of the Tanzanian industrial sector to contribute towards the achievement of the Tanzania Development Vision (TDV) 2025, the policy ignores the synergies between climate change, agroindustries, food security and trade. Moreover, the extent to which interventions support and make use of such opportunities deserves further examination and policy review.
The purpose of this work was to investigate the position of the SIDP on the current Tanzanian industrial development challenges of accommodating synergies with agro-industry, climate change, and trade and food security. Specifically, the work intended to: i) investigate the impact of the SIDP on Tanzania’s industrial development; ii) analyse existing policy frameworks that contribute towards industrial development in Tanzania; iii). identify and understand challenges and opportunities that face the implementation of the SIDP; iv) document best practices from countries that have developed industrial policies, which are well linked with the aspects of climate change, food security and trade and; v) analyse the role and responsibilities of stakeholders in ensuring that sustainable industrialisation materialises.
Methodological triangulation using a variety of data sources to engender robust results was employed and revealed the following findings: (i) Agro-processing industries are vulnerable to and influence cross-cutting issues notably, climate change, food security and trade; hence a dual cause; (ii) These cross-cutting issues are key variables that affect forward and backward linkages in the agro-processing subsector; (iii) Empirical evidence shows that there are several policies that acknowledge the importance of the agro-processing sector to economic and human development; (iv) National policies, plans and strategies on industrialisation and agro-processing industries have not sufficiently reflected and linked these cross cutting issues with industrialisation.
The implementation of these provisions poses a major challenge in three areas: weak interministerial and sectoral coordination and cooperation; weak sectoral linkages for policy; and low level public awareness and knowledge of policy issues. viii Sustainable Industrial Development Policy: What Role for Climate Change, Food Security and Trade?
The study recommends that national industrial development policies should provide a clear link between agro-processing and trade, climate change and food-security which is currently a glaring gap that requires the utmost attention when reviewing the SIDP. In view of this, the revised SIDP should indicate the integration and sectoral linkage as well as highlight the monitoring and evaluation mechanism to ensure each responsible organ performs what it is required to do. Hence, this piece of work will contribute towards sustainable industrial development in Tanzania.