The Challenges of Research in Improving Livestock Productivity in Tanzania

Abstract

The paper provides a situational analysis of the livestock industry in Tanzania with regard to its contribution to the national economy and poverty alleviation. A number of past livestock research strategies which have been formulated are reviewed.. These include the National Agriculture and Research Masterplan (NARMP) of 1993; The National Agricultural and Livestock Policy, 1997, the Tanzania Agricultural Research Programme (TARP II), TARPII, SUA, 2000 and the Livestock Stakeholders Conference on constraints and the way forward for the livestock sector in Tanzania. held in Arusha in April 2001. The latter noted that livestock sector contributed only 18% to GDP and 30% of Agricultural GDP and that this level of contribution could be increased substantially if a number of constraints were addressed. The six constraints identified were: type of livestock and production systems; land, water and animal feeds including pastures and rangelands; animal diseases; marketing and processing ; operational constraints including policy, institutional structures and human resources; and training and information. A survey of several development programmes involving livestock shows that livestock contribution to poverty alleviation may range from US $ 92-200 per annum for dairy goat farmers to $208 – 486 for dairy cattle farmers (cf. Poverty line of 365 US $ per annum.) it is postulated that if each of the >3 million households keeping local chicken were to increase their flock through better husbandry to an average of 20 per household instead of the current 8/hh, income per household could be increased to $600 per annum equivalent to Tshs 118 billion for the country as a whole. An analysis of typical diets of Tanzanians shows that at least 1.4 $ per day is required to provide a diet that supplies enough energy and slightly below normal (53 g ) protein per person per day for a family of 6. With a dependency ratio as high as 0.9, a low income worker should earn at least 1.4 $ per day to provide adequate nutrition for his/her family. Livestock have great potential to contribute to meeting income and food security need of farm households. Low productivity of livestock is a major impediment to achieving this objective. A number of constraints (low genetic potential, poor feeding and management and mortality and morbidity due to various animal diseases) that affect productivity of various livestock species are discussed. Animal health constraints are discussed in the light of the way they affect productivity, survival rates and reproduction, marketing of livestock and livestock products locally and internationally. Research achievements that have been made over the years with regards to development of animal genetic resources and disease control are given. Strategies to improve the contribution of research towards enhancement of livestock productivity are discussed. Its is concluded that there is need to redefine the country’s research agenda with focus on a few critical prioritised areas that will address enhancement of productivity, survival and reproduction, produce marketing and processing as well as the sustainable institutional set-up and funding mechanisms for livestock research