Smallholders, cooperatives, and food sovereignty in Tanzania : why a nation of farmers cannot feed its people

Abstract

Although the world produces more food than ever before, close to one billion people remain hungry worldwide. This problem is especially critical in the Global South, where the majority of the population are food producers. Such is the case for Tanzania, a developing country that is searching for solutions to its food insecurity. One solution involves cooperatives, seen as pro-smallholder, empowering the peasantry to overcome the barriers that impede their development, which equates to a positive effect on the nation feeding itself. Countering this is a modern, market based approach, which dilutes the role of the peasantry in favour of agribusinesses in order to ensure Tanzania’s food security. While the government claims to support both, it along with powerful international actors is throwing greater weight behind agribusinesses, opting for a food security based solution to the country’s food insecurity, at the expense of the peasantry and ultimately Tanzania’s own food sovereignty.