Striving to transform Tanzania’s cotton sector

Policy brief reporting on results of a study around Gatsby's engagement with the cotton sector in Tanzania.

The cotton sector in Tanzania is under-performing but has a huge potential for poverty reduction. The report highlights Gatsby's failures and successes, in particular: 

• the importance of (1) combining technical diagnosis with political insight and capability; (2) supporting indigenous problem-solving coalitions; and (3) adaptive programme management
• donors looking to maximise their impact should consider emulating the Gatsby funding philosophy - aiming for the big prizes and providing patient and flexible support
• Gatsby should use the lessons from cotton to strengthen the political economy dimensions of the framework it has developed to identify and track the key conditions contributing to progress within a sector