DODOMA, Tanzania – The Tanzania Prisons Service (TPS) on Wednesday unveiled an ambitious plan to achieve total food self-sufficiency, aiming to turn the nation’s correctional facilities into major agricultural producers.
Briefing journalists in the capital, Dodoma, TPS spokesperson Ms. Kavirondo stated that the initiative follows a directive from the Commissioner General of Prisons, Jeremiah Katungu. The plan involves expanding farming operations across project sites in Morogoro, Iringa, Dar es Salaam, and Mbeya.
“The projects seek to implement our bold plan to become self-sufficient in feeding prisons nationwide,” Kavirondo said.
“Surplus food will enter the open market to ease the government’s burden and contribute to national food security.”
The shift toward large-scale production is part of a broader Tanzanian government effort to modernize the agricultural sector and reduce the state’s annual expenditure on inmate sustenance.
By utilizing prison labor for mechanized farming, the TPS expects to produce maize, rice, and beans in quantities that far exceed the needs of the prison population.
The announcement coincided with a move by Tanzanian private firms to form a new coalition aimed at unlocking “climate finance.” The business leaders hope to secure international funding to help the country’s agricultural sector—including state-run projects like the prison farms—adapt to increasingly volatile weather patterns.
