Government tells investors to step up their feed game for better milk and meat. During a visit to a farmers' school in Muleba District within Tanzania's Kagera Region, the Livestock and Fisheries Minister, Bashiru Ally, pushed dairy investors to focus on making high-quality animal feed. He pointed to rising local and international demand for dairy and meat products, arguing that better feed is essential for boosting output. Ally highlighted Kagera's strong potential for growth in livestock revenue, citing its good climate, available pasture, water access, and location near the Great Lakes for easy market reach.
The region raises both local and improved animal breeds. Ally insisted that using better tech, infrastructure, and modern methods is the only way to move past small-scale farming limits. He pointed to existing commercial beef ranches in Kagera as ideal for new public-private partnership deals. His advice to farmers was blunt: stop keeping big herds of low-output animals and switch to modern, profitable dairy operations.
Ally admitted the country's huge number of livestock isn't translating to a fully used dairy sector. The government sees dairy as a key part of its industrial and food security plans. Right now, dairy makes up about thirty percent of local livestock production and just over one percent of the nation's total economic output. He warned that Tanzania's meat consumption per person is projected to triple soon, but the current supply cannot keep pace. This gap calls for major investment in skills and money for ranches, feedlots, slaughterhouses, and processing plants. He noted that meat exports hit fourteen thousand metric tons last year, well short of a fifty thousand ton goal.
A regional official, Isaya Tendega, stated Kagera has allocated over sixty-six thousand hectares for dairy development, and another two hundred fifty-five thousand for pasture, much of it managed by the National Ranching Company. The region has five major ranches leased to dozens of operators. Current stats show over seven hundred fourteen thousand local cattle, more than twenty thousand dairy cows making forty-six million liters of milk yearly, and about five thousand tons of beef. Despite these numbers, livestock only contributes seven point six percent to the region's economy. A final call was made for authorities to collaborate with private players to drive investment and industrial growth.
The region raises both local and improved animal breeds. Ally insisted that using better tech, infrastructure, and modern methods is the only way to move past small-scale farming limits. He pointed to existing commercial beef ranches in Kagera as ideal for new public-private partnership deals. His advice to farmers was blunt: stop keeping big herds of low-output animals and switch to modern, profitable dairy operations.
Ally admitted the country's huge number of livestock isn't translating to a fully used dairy sector. The government sees dairy as a key part of its industrial and food security plans. Right now, dairy makes up about thirty percent of local livestock production and just over one percent of the nation's total economic output. He warned that Tanzania's meat consumption per person is projected to triple soon, but the current supply cannot keep pace. This gap calls for major investment in skills and money for ranches, feedlots, slaughterhouses, and processing plants. He noted that meat exports hit fourteen thousand metric tons last year, well short of a fifty thousand ton goal.
A regional official, Isaya Tendega, stated Kagera has allocated over sixty-six thousand hectares for dairy development, and another two hundred fifty-five thousand for pasture, much of it managed by the National Ranching Company. The region has five major ranches leased to dozens of operators. Current stats show over seven hundred fourteen thousand local cattle, more than twenty thousand dairy cows making forty-six million liters of milk yearly, and about five thousand tons of beef. Despite these numbers, livestock only contributes seven point six percent to the region's economy. A final call was made for authorities to collaborate with private players to drive investment and industrial growth.
