Agriculture (crops, livestock, fisheries, and forestry), tourism, and mining make up the majority of the region's producing industries. The Rukwa Region's population relies on agriculture for about 80% of their income. There are 1,660,600 ha of
arable land and only 447,079 ha (or about 32% of arable land) are under cultivation. Rukwa Region's
GDP at current market prices increased by 1,529,289, 2,407,234 and 2,677,131 in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, the per capita income was 974,601, 1,485,563 and 1,599,845 respectively. From 2003 and 2012, the sustained GDP growth rate ranged from 7 to 18 percent on average. Despite the region being dominated by agriculture,
gemstones like
emerald and others are abundant in Rukwa. The region has large variety of industrial and base metal minerals, including kaolin, quartz, graphite, tin, limonite, copper, and cobalt.
Agriculture Rukwa is an agrarian society where agriculture accounts for around 80% of people's daily income. Maize, paddy, beans, wheat, millet, and cassava are among of the crops that are grown.
Sunflower, groundnuts, sesame, barley, and other vegetables are among the others. Although agriculture is not yet fully mechanized, the trend indicates that there is an excess of certain crops, notably maize, paddy,
cassava, sunflower, and sesame. Smallholder farmers who work between 0.5 and 2.0 ha account for 68 percent of the farmed area in the Rukwa region and are the main form of agriculture. A total of 72,915 ha in the region have the capacity to be irrigated; however, only 5,768 ha of that total—or 7.9 percent of the irrigable land—can now be irrigated. There are 25 possible
irrigation scheme sites in the region, of which 9 have been constructed for contemporary irrigation facilities and 16 are under traditional irrigation. A 20% GDP contribution from livestock is made in the Rukwa region. Each family of farmers keeps 12 cattle on average. A massive inflow of agro pastoralists from
Tabora,
Shinyanga, and
Mwanza have, however, moved into the area during the past ten years in search of pasture for their animals. Each household of the migrating pastoralists keeps 100 to 300 cattle on average. There are currently 446,746 cattle in the Rukwa region, according to estimates. The region's growing cattle population presents an opportunity for the development of enterprises that process livestock products. In the Rukwa region, there are two ranches and one dairy farm. Heritage Farm is the owner of the dairy farm in the Sumbawanga Municipality's Malonje. The beef ranches in Nkundi and Kalambo are owned by SAAFI and NARCO, respectively. Rukwa region only has 1,103 improved
dairy animals, or 0.27% of the 399,025 dairy animals in the nation, according to the sample census from 2002/2003. According to the most recent data (2013/2014 reports), there are 537 dairy goats and 7,061 dairy cattle in the Rukwa region. In the Rukwa region, 102,260 tons of fish were produced between 1997 and 2002, totaling TZS 3.453 billion. 99 percent of the fish are captured in the Nkasi district. There are two large lakes in the area, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Rukwa. Other smaller lakes and rivers exist.
Sardines,
tilapia, nile perch, mud fish, luciolates strapessil "Migebuka," and numerous ornamental fish species are among the varieties of fish that may be found in the region.In the Muze community, which is close to Lake Rukwa, crocodile farming is done on a modest scale.
Infrastructure There are 2,512.73 km of roads in the area. Only 106.70 km and 676.65 km of the 2,512.73 km total length of the road network are paved. The remaining roads are earthen ones that are kept up. The LGAs (Local government) are in charge of the remaining network while TANROADS manages the trunk and regional roads. The Kalambo district has the fewest roads, whereas Sumbawanga Municipality has the most. Along the shores of Lake Tanganyika and Lake Rukwa, marine transportation is an important factor in the movement of people and goods. On Lake Tanganyika, two commercial vessels—the Mwongozo and the Liemba—serve the communities of Kabwe, Korongwe, Ninde, Wampembe, Kala, Kirando, Kipili, and Kasanga. They are unreliable, though. Ships are required to anchor some distance from the beach (about 1 to 1.5 nautical miles) with the exception of Kasanga, where there is a landing platform; as a result, goods and passengers must be brought to the ships by small boats. Marine services connect the territory to the neighboring nations of Zambia, the Congo DR, and Burundi as well as the neighboring Regions of Katavi and
Kigoma. Only boats are permitted for transportation within Lake Rukwa. In Rukwa Region, there is just one (1) public airport and four (4) private airstrips. The Sumbawanga Municipal Council is home to the public airport. The region is served by only two commercial flights, according to
Tanzania Airports Authority (TAA). As of
mass communication, In the Rukwa Region, twelve radio stations are accessible. As for water, according to the population and housing census from 2012, protected wells were the primary source of drinking water for 49.4% of all private homes. In Sumbawanga Municipal Council and Namanyere Town, which includes nine villages of Nkasi DC, electricity is provided by TANESCO. Only 7% of families in the area consume power provided by
TANESCO, according to a 2002 Household Budget Survey. TANESCO intends to expand in rural areas through REA. Hydropower from Zambia and thermal electricity generating facilities in Sumbawanga Municipality are the sources of this electricity.
Mining While there are extensive mineral resources in the Rukwa Region, there are no active large mines. Gem stones, including
emerald,
moonstone,
aquamarine,
amethyst,
ruby, and
topaz, have been recovered from a number of locations. ==Population==