Tanzania weighs takeover of billionaire Mohammed Dewji’s over 2,000-hectare idle tea estates

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.

• The Tanzanian government is negotiating with MeTL about over 2,000 hectares of dormant tea estates in Mbeya.
• Deputy Minister for Agriculture David Silinde revealed these discussions during a parliamentary session, responding to concerns about market access for local tea farmers.
• Authorities are weighing options, including handing processing factories to cooperatives to enable farmers to participate directly in the tea value chain.
• Despite MeTL securing a $24.6 million loan for estate rehabilitation and agricultural modernisation, government officials remain unsatisfied with the progress on reviving the estates.

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.

Under one option being considered, the processing factories attached to the estates could be handed over to cooperatives, allowing farmers to participate more directly in the tea value chain instead of relying on a private operator whose facilities have remained inactive.

Silinde said reviving the estates would strengthen Tanzania’s tea industry while improving incomes for thousands of farmers in the Southern Highlands who rely on the crop. Tanzania, Africa’s third-largest tea producer, generates between 22,000 and 32,000 metric tons annually, supporting millions of livelihoods. However, the shutdown of MeTL’s processing facilities has left many farmers with limited buyers for their green tea leaves.

MeTL faces growing pressure

The dispute over the estates has been brewing for more than a year. In September 2025, President Samia Suluhu publicly criticised the company during a campaign rally in Rungwe, saying the government planned to repossess a tea estate from MeTL after concluding that the company had failed to develop the assets in line with commitments made during privatisation.

The comments intensified political scrutiny on the group during Tanzania’s election season and placed pressure on MeTL chief executive Mohammed Dewji to demonstrate renewed investment in agriculture.

In response, MeTL secured a $24.6 million senior corporate loan from the African Development Bank in November 2025 as part of a broader $74.7 million agricultural modernisation programme.

The financing was intended to rehabilitate ageing tea estates, convert over 1,000 hectares into organic plantations and upgrade tea processing facilities. The programme also included investments in sisal and macadamia farming.

Despite the financing, government officials continued pressing the company over the idle estates. Agriculture Minister Hussein Bashe had earlier stated that if MeTL could not revive the operations, the government should step in.

Negotiations between the government and MeTL remain ongoing, with no final agreement or timeline yet announced.