After almost a century of activities related to the development and use of animal traction in Tanzania, many farmers are no closer to adopting the technology. What is more disturbing is the realisation that neither the farmers nor the government are near to finding lasting solutions to many pressing problems confronting the use of this technology in Tanzania. This paper identifies the major challenges facing the technology of animal traction, including constant wavering in government policies and support towards agriculture in general and animal traction in particular, low adoption of the technology and institutional matters. It is argued that most of the challenges facing animal traction in Tanzania are a result of national policies that have given too little attention to the needs of smallholder farmers. Current government practices on economic recovery programmes reflect a shift of priorities away from the agricultural sector. The paper concludes that the challenges facing animal traction in Tanzania can be overcome if agriculture is regarded as the leading sector in the national economy and enough support is provided for its development.