The agricultural policies advocated by the Tanzanian government for the cooperative societies and the coffee sector have not been stable. Frequent policy changes have affected the sector, hindering the effectiveness of the institutions that deal with the coffee sector. Most of these policy changes have failed to foster the growth of coffee production. Despite the market potential of Tanzanian coffee, policies and challenges have resulted in the stagnation of annual coffee production at 50,000 tons per year for over four decades. Currently, the Tanzanian coffee sector is challenged by limited government commitment in the coffee industry as well as the poor performance of institutions responsible for an increase in coffee production. Thus, these challenges have led to a failure to support research and extension activities, limited production and distribution of hybrid seedlings, and poor data collection on production, number of coffee farmers and farm size. Failure to take private sector aboard are further consequences of these challenges. This paper discusses the main challenges facing the coffee sector and opportunities for increasing coffee production in Tanzania. Since coffee production in Tanzania has the potential to reach its optimum production level, it is therefore recommended that the government address the identified challenges, commit itself to the development of the crop and reinvest part of the revenue collected from the coffee sector in research and development. Public-Private Partnership could be forged to revive the coffee industry by bringing on board the private sector to invest and assist in the provision of extension services, which are important for enhancing production growth through the improvement of the recommended agricultural practices, marketing efficiency and technological change. Furthermore, it is recommended that the coffee sector adopt two different strategies for improving both the quantity and quality of Tanzanian coffee, the Northern Highlands which produces Kilimanjaro should adopt a strategy of improving quality while the Southern Highlands with ample land for expansion, should adopt the strategies which will improve the quantity and thus, reach the targeted aim of increasing coffee production.

Keywords: Kilimanjaro, smallholder farmers, coffee, Public Private Partnership, Tanzania