Linking Smallholders with Trans-National Agribusiness through Contract Farming: Pro-Poor Growth or Dependency? A Gender-Differentiated Study of Equity, Poverty, and Food Security Outcomes in Tanzanian Peasant Communities

Contract farming---through which producers are integrated into commodity chains through direct supply agreements with agribusiness---is increasingly prominent in `the new agriculture' promoted by major development actors. The Tanzanian government has cemented a rural development strategy prioritizing private sector-led growth, particularly through contract farming. While it is often framed as an optimal poverty-reduction model, concerns have been identified about less-quantifiable costs for farmers. Research was conducted in Iringa District among smallholders contracting with tobacco TNCs. A qualitative, gender-differentiated approach guided exploration of the potential of contract farming to generate pro-poor outcomes. The impacts on food security, poverty, and equity, and the dynamics of dependency and vulnerability identified demonstrate that contract farming fails as a development strategy in Iringa. It is argued that the language of `pro-poor' growth is being misappropriated by state and international actors promoting contract farming. Recommendations are made for policy, alternatives and mitigation measures.