Singida Region () is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. It covers a land area of , comparable in size to the nation of Slovakia. for Slovakia at The region is bordered to the north by Shinyanga Region, Simiyu Region and Arusha Region, to the northeast by Manyara Region, to the east by Dodoma Region, to the southeast by Iringa Region, to the southwest by Mbeya Region and to the west by Tabora Region. The regional capital is the municipality of Singida. According to the 2022 national census, the region had a population of 2,008,058.
Geography Singida Region is located below the equator between latitudes 3052’ and 7034’. Longitudinally the region is situated between 33027’ and 350 26’ east of Greenwich. To the north, it shares borders with Shinyanga Region; Arusha, Manyara and on the east borders Dodoma. To the south it shares borders with Iringa and Mbeya while on the west there is Tabora Region.
Singida Region has a total surface area of 49,438 km2, out of which 95.5 km2 or 0.19 percent are covered by water bodies of Lake Eyasi, Kitangiri, Singidani, Kindai, Munang and Balengida. The remaining 49,342.5 km2 is land area. It is the 5th largest in size and occupies about 5.6 percent of mainland Tanzania's total area of 881,289 km2. Manyoni District Council (57.9%) is the largest district in the Singida Region, followed by Ikungi District Council (14.9%), Iramba District, Singida District Council, Mkalama District Council, and Singida Municipality at the tail end.
Climate The area is a portion of Tanzania's semi-arid central region, which has an unpredictable rainfall pattern, brief rainy seasons, and a fairly severe drought once every four years. There are significant geographic and seasonal variations in the annual total rainfall, which ranges from 500 mm to 800 mm. There are two seasons: the lengthy dry season from April/May to November and the brief rainy season from December to March (or occasionally up to April).
In the south-west of Manyoni District near Rungwa and along the escarpment at Kiomboi in Iramba District, where long-term mean annual rainfall surpasses 800 mm, respectively, are where Singida Region is wettest. Over a sizable portion of the Iramba and Singida districts, the mean annual rainfall falls between 600 mm and 800 mm. The driest section of the region, where the mean annual rainfall is less than 550 mm, is located on the eastern side of Manyoni District, close to the Bahi Swamp and the Rift Valley depression of Mgori and Shelui divisions. The average annual rainfall in the region is 700 mm.
The temperatures in the region vary according to altitude but generally range from about 15 °C in July to 30 °C during the month of October. Moreover, temperature differences are observed between day and night and may be very high, with hot afternoons going up to 35 °C and chilly nights going down to 10 °C.
The direction of the winds is determined by the monsoon season; they are north-easterly from November to March and south-easterly the rest of the year (dry season). The region is typically semi-arid from May to October because of the typically dry breezes in the area. The climatic influence of strong winds on moisture losses and consequent desertification is highlighted by the fact that maximal wind speeds occur with the time of greatest water scarcity.
Geology The Wembere Steppe and the Bahi Swamp are frequently completely covered in alluviums, which are two main superficial geological deposits in the Singida Region. Alluviums are composed of sandy soil and clay which can be found in drainage depressions of all sizes and along watercourses. These alluvial deposits center regions share a coating of black dirt, or "mbuga," on the surface.
This clay has a high degree of flexibility and responds to variations in moisture content by clearly shrinking and swelling. Sandy colluvial or slope wash materials, created from the neighborhood's basement rocks, surround the "mbuga." Under shallow "mbuga," banded conglomerate limestone and, less commonly, silica are frequently formed. The second deposit is of Cainozoic consisting of cemented sand, literate and sandstone occupying only a very small proportion of the region.
Topography The Singida Region is located in the northern portion of Tanzania's central plateau, which rises to elevations of 1,200 to 1,500 meters above sea level. A significant scarp that can reach heights of 180 meters, which is the eastern portion of the Great Rift Valley, surrounds the area on all sides with the exception of the south-eastern border. Massive outcrops or rocky peaks made of granite and metamorphic rocks are a notable aspect of the land escarpment in the Iramba and Singida areas. These outcrops, often referred to as inselbergs, are the remains of old land surfaces that have been eroded to create a vast, gently sloping peneplain in the nearby areas.
Drainage basins The following are the fundamental drainage systems in the Singida Region: The only permanent river in the area is Sibiti, which originates in the Mkalama District and empties into Lake Kitangiri.
Ndurumo, Mpura, Kisukwani, and Wembere rivers originate in the Iramba District and flow north and northwest into Lake Kitangiri and the Eyasi Basin. Ponde and Bubu rivers originate in the Ikungi district and flow into the Bahi Swamp, which stretches across the Rift Valley's floor into the Dodoma Region.
Njombe River receives input from other rivers before joining Great Ruaha River and emptying into the Indian Ocean. The Wembere Plain or wetland is drained by rivers in the Ikungi District. Internal drainage affects a large portion of the plateau, creating salty and alkaline lakes including Singidani, Kindai, and Balengida Singida.
Flora Bush or thickets in the uplands are examples of the vegetation that can be found there. Wetland vegetation is another thing, and it combines grassland with trees. In the Iramba and Central Singida districts (Ilongero/Mgori), bushland vegetation predominates. Parts of Ikungi District (Isuna, Ikungi, northern Manyoni, the northeastern portion of Itigi, and parts of Makanda) are covered in an impenetrable dense deciduous thicket of multisteamed shrubs known as "Itigi thickets." In areas of woodland grassland and on the edge of marsh vegetation, wetland vegetation is found in wetter "mbuga" that are inevitably inundated for extended periods during the wet season. Kintinku, Muhalala, and Saranda in Manyoni's northeast and Manyoni's southeast both have this type of vegetation.
Economy About 90% of the population in Singida Region is employed in the agricultural industry, which dominates the region's economy. The majority of the region's monetary revenue comes from agriculture, primarily from the production of maize, sweet potatoes, paddy, sorghum, peanut, cotton, sunflower, cashew nuts, and cassava. Next to agriculture, the livestock industry—which includes the poultry industry—plays a key role in the local economy.
Agriculture In the Singida Region, the main food crops are maize, sweet potatoes, paddy, sorghum, and cassava. The primary food crop planted in the area is maize, which accounts for 45.9% of the cumulative annual average area under food crop cultivation. Sorghum is the next-largest crop, coming in at 23.5%, followed by sweet potatoes (14.0%) and finger millet (11.1%). Paddy (2.2%) and cassava (2.0%) were the other food crops grown. Three years, from 2016–17 to 2018–19, saw the region harvest an average of 595,530.8 metric tonnes of food crops. The best year was 2017–2018, when the region produced a record–setting total of 708,838.4 metric tonnes of all crops.
With an average annual output of 256,915.9 metric tonnes, maize is the primary food crop in the area, accounting for 43.1% of the average annual production of food crops. Sorghum (21.4%), sweet potatoes (15.6%), finger millet (9.1%), paddy (5.6%), cassava (3.8%), and pearl millet (1.5%) are the next most common grains.
In many of the communities in the area, livestock is a significant source of revenue and defines the economic and social standing of the home. At current market values, the regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Singida rose from approximately TZS 1.2 trillion in 2012 to approximately TZS 2.42 trillion in 2018. At current market values, the regional GDP per capita climbed from TZS 872,866 in 2012 to TZS 1,500,190 in 2018.
Cash crops Cash crops in the area occupied an average yearly area of 210,302.0 hectares from the 2016/17 crop season to the 2018/19 crop season. Sunflower, cotton, groundnuts, onions, simsim, finger millet, and lentils are some of the most important cash crops. Sunflower accounted for the majority of the land used for growing cash crops, accounting for an average of 108,629.5 hectares per year, followed by ground nuts with 23,319.5 hectares (11.1%) and other crops.
Three years, from 2016–17 to 2018–19, saw Singida Region harvest a total of 407,911.5 metric tonnes of cash crops, setting a record. The best year was 2018–19, with a cumulative annual average of 274,115.4 metric tonnes. Sunflower is the major cash crop in the area, producing an average of 133,869.5 metric tonnes annually, accounting for 48.8% of the average annual production of food crops in the region. Onion (30.19%), cowpeas (6.7%), groundnuts (6.2%), cotton (2.4%), simsim (1.8%), Kartamu (1.4%), dengu (1.2%), sugar cane (0.3%), tobacco (0.1%), and cashewnut (0.1%) are the next-highest commodities.
8,977 hectares in the Singida Region could be used for irrigation. There are currently just 2,531 hectares of land that are irrigated, or 28.2 percent, of the total area. Paddy, maize, and horticultural crops, primarily tomatoes, onions, cabbages, egg plants, watermelons, and capsicums, are among the crops irrigated.
Sunflowers With a cumulative annual average production of 133,869.5 tonnes from 2016/17 to 2018/19, sunflowers were the top cash crop in the area. The largest producer in the area was Singida District, Council, which contributed 24.8 percent of the total tonnage of sunflower gathered in the area. Ikungi District Council came in second with 16.5%, followed by Mkalama District Council with 16.5%, Manyoni District Council with 10.4%, and Singida Municipality with 2.3%. Iramba District Council came in second with 23.5%.
Onions Onion output from 2016/17 to 2018/19 had a total annual average production of 84,835.1 tonnes, placing it second in terms of quantity after sunflower. The largest onion producer in the area was Mkalama District Council, which supplied 59.2% of the total tonnage of onions gathered in the area. Ikungi District Council (11.7%), Iramba District Council (8.5%), and Itigi District Council (1.3%) were in second, third, and fourth place, respectively, behind Singida District Council (19.3%).
Livestock Singida has a large number of livestock with around 1.4 million cattle, 0.7 million goats, 0.4 million sheep, 42,00 donkeys and 1.1 million chickens. Livestock ranks 2nd as a major resource for the economy. This includes livelihood and beef export which is a major trade domestically and nationally. Other economic contributions are mining, commerce, and natural resources consisting of agro-forestry, wildlife, bee keeping and fishing. Singida has a progressive increase in the GDP income the country of Tanzania. It contributes 3% to the government of Tanzania's GDP.