meat export boost on roll out of Tanzania's vaccination plan

President Samia strikes deal to increase volume of meat export to Saudi Arabia.
Tanzania meat export segment is often undermined by quality, which is attributable to pests and diseases, a challenge the nation seeks to fix by rolling out mass livestock vaccination campaign.
At least three Saudi Arabian companies plan to invest in Tanzania’s livestock, and fodder production sub-sectors.

Tanzania is rolling out livestock vaccination campaign as part of a raft of measures geared at enhancing the quality and volume of meat export. Although the East African nation boats of the third largest livestock herd in Africa, the quality of meat export is often hampered by persistent pests and diseases.

“We want every livestock keeper to vaccinate, and we will develop a specific vaccination schedule for each livestock disease,” said Livestock and Fisheries Minister Abdallah Ulega.

Policymakers in Tanzania seek to triple meat export by 2030 a goal that is expected to benefit immensely from the mass vaccination drive. As part of the campaign, the government has set aside what it calls ‘Disease-free Compartment Zones’.

Tanzania’s mass livestock vaccination drive to boost meat export

The top government official made the announcement at the State House in Dar es Salaam following President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s return from Morocco and Saudi Arabia where she was lobbying investors in the Arab peninsula to invest in Tanzania.

According to the minister, the campaign is expected to increase investor confidence in Tanzania’s meat standards and quality and in turn, increase meat export to Saudi Arabia as well as other global markets.

Among the targeted investors include Saudi Arabia’s Almarai company, which has expressed interest in investing in the production of livestock fodder. While preliminary negotiations are ongoing with the Ministry of Livestock, other companies that have expressed interest include Salic Company and the Crown Agricultural Company.

The investors are all expected to enter the livestock feed industry and a specialized project that the government says is meant to “fatten cows for sale in the Middle East market.”

“These companies have also requested to start cooperative associations of farmers who will cultivate livestock feed, and to establish joint collection centers for the final products,” detailed the minister.

The minister explained that, while Tanzania has a large headcount of cattle, they are however dispersed sporadically across the country making the collection of meat and other livestock products difficult and costly.

“So, what we are doing is streamlining the process so that exporters can easily collect the livestock products at designated collection centers,” he said.

As for fodder farming, the minister said, it will be done through contract farming; “The farmers will be given seeds, directed on modern farming methods and after harvesting, they will deliver the final products to the designated collection centers,” he explained.

The livestock product export market was severely hit by the Covid-19 global pandemic, which led to the export of a mere 1,700 tonnes of meat in 2021. Conversely, following the reopening of global markets Tanzania has sold more than 14,000 tonnes in the 2022/23 financial year alone, the minister said.

Under President Samia, the minister said, Tanzania has opened a new meat export market in Saudi Arabia, which until June of this year has purchased 1,400 tonnes of the product. Furthermore, the minister projected that the new Saudi Arabia market is expected to import some 20,000 tonnes of meat per month.

“The Saudis are ready to cooperate with Tanzania, and the first step is to ensure that we have out growers to reach the Saudi market effectively,” the minister emphasized.

In September 2023, the minister addressed the Africa Food System Forum 2023 in Dar es Salaam, where he listed several ongoing government interventions focused on boosting commercial livestock production.

Tanzania’s Livestock Sector Transformation Plan (LSTP)

Minister Ulega has also announced the implementation of a livestock sector recovery strategy dubbed the Livestock Sector Transformation Plan (LSTP). The plan includes improving animal breeds through artificial insemination, and the use of improved breeding bulls. The LSTP also encompasses strengthening pasture and water development for livestock and the establishment of commercial farms for pasture and pasture seed production.

The strategy also includes initiatives such as the strengthening of animal health systems through vaccination campaigns, control of ticks and tick-borne diseases, deployment of nationwide extension services, and equipping extension officers with the needed tools of trade, transportation, research, and capacity building.

The LSTP, the minister said, will also feature value addition of livestock products, creating an enabling environment for business and investment, and mainstreaming employment opportunities through the engagement of youth and women.

All this will be carried out under the auspices of Tanzania’s Building a Better Tomorrow through the Livestock and Fisheries Entrepreneurs (BBT-LIFE) initiative. “We have recruited 240 youth in the BBT-LIFE program, and the beneficiaries have been acquainted with the necessary innovative mind transformation, entrepreneurship skills, and business-oriented perspectives,” the minister said.

Thanks to the initiative, the BBT-LIFE program is expected to significantly contribute to increased production and value addition in the livestock sub-sector. The initiative is also expected to increase employment opportunities for marginalized groups like youth, women, and persons with disabilities.

Fodder investments to power meat export

According to the Livestock and Fisheries Ministry, Tanzania is endowed with extensive rangelands and diverse natural vegetation estimated at 88.6 million hectares of land resources and 60 million hectares suitable for grazing. Some of the stand out investment avenues are:

Collaborating on joint venture initiatives with the National Ranching Company (NARCO) and privately owned ranches to modernize existing ranches, create new ones (for cattle, sheep, and goats), and develop farms specializing in poultry and piggery, including livestock fattening.
Setting up state-of-the-art slaughtering facilities and processing plants, establishing breeder farms for grand and parent stock, and creating animal feed processing plants to provide feeds to both large and local small to medium-scale producers.
Creating commercial layers and broiler farms, as well as establishing broiler processing plants and a hub/market for small and medium-scale poultry production. Establishing tanneries and producing footwear and leather goods.
Setting up dairy farms and facilities for milk processing. Investing in livestock farming with a focus on prioritized products such as beef, dairy, chicken, hides, and skins.

Tanzania meat export potential

According to the ministry, as of 2015, Tanzania had the third-largest livestock population in Africa. This includes 25 million cattle, 98 per cent of which are indigenous breeds, complemented by 16.7 million goats, 8 million sheep, 2.4 million pigs, and 36 million chickens.

All foundational economic indicators point to a dramatic increase in national, regional, and global demand for Tanzanian livestock products as populations grow in number and affluence.

Tanzanian with its geography linking east and southern Africa and interior nations to the coast is well placed to be a major player in regional livestock market investments. Trade in meat has increased significantly, with more and more countries seeking to close their supply gap through imports.