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🇹🇿 Tanzania /Economy & Trade

Zanzibar to register livestock keepers and help them raise productivity

From Mwananchi · () Swahili

Translated from Swahili and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Zanzibar’s agriculture ministry has launched a program to identify livestock keepers and help them adopt professional farming practices.
  • Officials say poor management limits production, with egg yields reaching only 60% to 65%, compared with a target of 85% to 90% for profitability.
  • The government plans to offer training, possible subsidies and links to agricultural loans while reducing Zanzibar’s 20% reliance on imported eggs.

Zanzibar’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, Natural Resources and Livestock has launched a strategic program to identify livestock keepers and help them increase production. The initiative follows concerns that some farmers are relying on methods that do not follow professional standards.

Officials said poor practices can limit egg production to between 60% and 65%. Farmers need production levels of 85% to 90% to reach their targets and make a profit, the ministry said.

Failure to provide proper and regular treatment significantly reduces milk production in cows and egg production in chickens.

· Ali Zahran MohamedZanzibar’s chief veterinary officer warned about the production losses caused by inadequate animal healthcare.

Zanzibar’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Ali Zahran Mohamed, warned that poor health practices expose livestock to disease and death. “Failure to provide proper and regular treatment significantly reduces milk production in cows and egg production in chickens,” he said.

Experts will be able to reach livestock keepers and educate them on how to raise animals commercially instead of relying on traditional methods.

· Suleiman Masoud MakameThe agriculture minister explained the purpose of registering livestock keepers.

The government has begun identifying livestock keepers across Zanzibar to establish where they operate and what activities they carry out. Agriculture Minister Suleiman Masoud Makame said officials had visited parts of southern Unguja and found that farmers needed professional advice.

“Experts will be able to reach livestock keepers and educate them on how to raise animals commercially instead of relying on traditional methods,” Makame said. The ministry also plans to provide modern training, connect registered farmers with the Agricultural Development Bank for loans, and help them improve structures such as animal shelters and equipment. Officials said the program has begun in the Southern and Central regions and will expand to all districts. It aims to close a 20% gap in egg production currently covered by imports. Hamad Akida, an egg farmer in Bwejuu, said he had never received formal training but now keeps 2,500 laying hens.

I have never received training or had professional instruction in livestock keeping. It is just my own ingenuity, and now I keep 2,500 laying hens.

· Hamad AkidaThe Bwejuu farmer described his experience with informal poultry farming.
About this summary

Originally published by Mwananchi in Swahili. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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