The DRD's organisational structure consists of the Head Office in Dar es Salaam, seven research zones and a national institute, namely the Animal Diseases Research Institute (ADRI).

The broad functions of the DRD include the following:

• to coordinate research programmes in Tanzania in accordance with the national policies and priorities for agricultural research;
• to recommend the use of research findings and in collaboration with extension services, make sure that the research recommendations reach farmers;
• to coordinate and integrate agricultural and livestock research work with that of other sectors through the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH);
• to draw-up plans for training agricultural experts and manage the running of training courses for such experts in the country.

Agricultural Research System in Tanzania
The organisational structure of Agricultural Research In Tanzania currently under the Division of Research and Development (DRD) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, has undergone many changes and expanded rapidly over recent years. Agricultural Research System besides the DRD involves the Tropical Pesticides Research Institute (TPRI); as well as the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and to a lesser degree, the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM). Changes in the Organisational structure of agricultural research have been partly due to absorpiton of several of the Research Institutes which were formerly administrered by the East African Community: TPRI, Kibaha Sugar Research Institute, Marikitanda Tea Research Institute and Tengeru; and the introduction of new Research programmes. In 1980, the former Ministry of Agriculture split into two new ministries, one for Agriculture (Crops), and the other for Livestock Development. At the same time two semiautonomous organisation, the Tanzania Agricultural Research Organisation (TARO), and the Tanzania Livestock Research Organisation (TALIRO) were established. The two newly formed ministries of Agriculture and livestock Development were again fused together in 1989, with a consequential cease of TARO and TALIRO. Up to date, the Ministry of Agriculture has been directly responsible for management of Agricultural research, but this has now been placed largely under the Division of Research and Development.

The DRD operates a network of over fifty Research Institutes and associated centres/substations, that cover the main areas of crops and livestock research in the country. The main Research effort comes from seven Zonal Research and Training Centres (ZRTCs), each comprising a lead station and associated centers /substations. The ZRTCs are located in the seven agro-ecological zones and have a responsibility for both applied and location-specific adaptive Research and training. There are also a few institutes that are not under the zonal research set-up and which undertake specialized Research work, e.g. the Animal Diseases Research Institute (ADRI) in Temeke, Dar es Salaam; and the Tsetse and Trypanosomiosis Research Institute (TTRI), Tanga. These institutes have a national mandate and are responsible for the design and evaluation of nation-wide research programmes in collaboration with the zonal centers.

In addition to the sections, there are three units responsible for planning and evaluation, accounts, and administration. The latter two are really not an integral part of the DRD but have been assigned to facilitate liaison with the appropriate department in the ministry .

The DRD of the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for co-ordinating overall ministerial research policy. It also plays a liaison function between the Government, the councils of the Research organisations and other scientific bodies outside the Ministry of Agriculture, which are engaged in Agricultural Research.

International Support
Over recent years, Tanzania has enjoyed considerable support from multi-lateral organisations through bilateral agreements with other governments and from other agencies. Support, mainly in the form of germplasm and training opportunities, is received from international agricultural research centers under the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research--CGIAR, which among others, has the following principal research centers under it: IITA, CIMMYT, ICRISAT, IRRI, CIAT, ISNAR, ILRI IFPRI IWMI ICRAF, , CIP, IPGRI, ICARDA. Other international organisations like FAO, CTA, CABI, etc. have had a great impact in the success of agricultural research endeavours in Tanzania.

Local Support
While the major funding for agricultural research comes from the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, some of the parastatal production and marketing organisations from time to time make voluntary contributions to Research Funds.

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