Status: active

Currently, 14% of Tanzania’s 32.7 million ha of cropland is acidic. Acidity is prominent in the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) regions and the Lake Zone regions. Soil acidity inhibits root growth and nutrient absorption, reducing yields of major cash and staple crops (e.g., maize, rice, beans, and cassava) in Tanzania. Maize, for example, faces a 40% loss in production efficiency in acid soils. The loss in production efficiency means that only 2.2 million mt of maize are produced in acid soil against potential production of 5.5 million mt.Reduced crop productivity threatens the food security of the country – with an estimated 15% of rural households classified as food insecure and 15% more at risk of becoming food insecure . Lime is the most easily available and effective way of reducing soil acidity and is a viable solution to treat soil acidity due to its impact on acid soils over a relatively short period of time. Tanzania shows that lime application on different crops has the potential to significantly improve crop yield – up to 50% in maize and 360% in beans .