Tanzania’s government is negotiating with Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited (MeTL) over the future of more than 2,000 hectares of dormant tea estates in the Mbeya Region.
Tanzania’s government is negotiating with Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited (MeTL) over the future of more than 2,000 hectares of dormant tea estates in the Mbeya Region, as authorities weigh options that could include repossessing the land and redistributing it to smallholder farmers and cooperatives.
Deputy Minister for Agriculture David Silinde disclosed the discussions during a parliamentary session this week, according to Billionaires Africa report.
The legislator had asked when the government intended to reclaim the idle estates and allocate them to local tea farmers who have struggled with limited market access due to the inactivity of the plantations and factories.
Silinde told parliament that the government is in talks with MeTL to revive production on the estates but is also exploring the possibility of acquiring the land and reassigning it to farmer groups and cooperative societies.
