MOROGORO: THE Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism has commended the Tanzania Forest Services Agency (TFS) for its robust financial performance, directing the agency to intensify the promotion of forest resources, heritage sites and geological attractions to drive visitor arrivals.
The ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Hassan Abbasi issued while closing the fourth annual meeting of zonal commanders, chief conservators of districts, forest plantations natural forest reserves and heritage sites, recently held in Morogoro.
Dr Abbasi highlighted a transformative shift in the agency’s economic impact, noting that TFS has recorded extraordinary progress in leveraging forest resources to drive growth.
This strategic focus resulted in a dramatic surge in visitor numbers, which skyrocketed from 59,606 to 346,394 within the 2024/2025 financial year.
This nearly fivefold increase underscores the rising global and domestic interest in Tanzania’s diverse forest reserves and heritage sites.
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“For many years, TFS did not engage in tourism activities. Today, it has become a model institution contributing significant revenue to the ministry. Continue strengthening other economic ventures as well,” he said.
He further praised the agency for surpassing its 2025 revenue collection target. TFS collected 189bn/- against a projected 176bn/- by the end of the financial year.
“For the 2026 financial year ending June, you set revenue projections and by February had already collected 127bn/-, equivalent to 70 per cent of the target,” he noted.
Dr Abbasi also commended TFS for strong export performance, generating 196.6bn/-, as well as producing 1,596 tonnes of honey worth 19.2bn/- and beeswax valued at 2.9bn/-.
“I congratulate you on this management achievement. The contribution of the forestry and beekeeping sector to the national GDP has now reached 3.5 per cent,” he said.
He emphasised that while the ministry is mandated to enhance ecosystem resilience and protect biodiversity, TFS commanders and station leaders carry the responsibility of ensuring sustainable forest management for the benefit of both the nation and the global community.
Earlier, TFS Conservation Commissioner Prof Dos Santos Silayo said the sevenday meeting was significant following structural reforms that shifted the agency’s operational framework from a civilian system to a militarystyle structure.
“We have moved from the civilian system that included a workers’ council to holding an annual general meeting. This is the fourth meeting bringing together commanders and station leaders to review performance, gather views and formulate new implementation strategies,” said Prof Silayo.