Presented by A. P. Njombe, Y. N. Msanga, N.R. Mbwambo and A. Temba at the Smallholder Dairy Value Chain in Tanzania Stakeholder Meeting, Morogoro, Tanzania, 9 March 2012

1. Efforts to improve the dairy
industry in Tanzania
A. P. Njombe, Y. N. Msanga, N.R. Mbwambo and
A. Temba
Ministry of Livestock Development and Fisheries
The Smallholder Dairy Value Chain in Tanzania Stakeholder Meeting,
Morogoro, Tanzania, 9 March 2012

2. Outline
• Introduction
• Past Experience in Cattle Improvement
• Efforts in Developing the Industry
• Status in the Dairy Industry
– Milk production (challenges and solutions)
– Milk collection, Processing and Marketing
• Opportunities
- Large number of cattle and ample land
- Potential for domestic and export market
- Milk Processing
- Dairy Stakeholders Organisation
• Conclusion

3. Introduction
• Livestock are productive assets as livestock and livestock
products contribute to food and income security of the rural
poor
• Livestock resources for Tanzania include 21.3 million
cattle, 15.2 million goats and 6.4 million sheep. Other major
livestock species kept in the country include 1.6 million pigs
and 43 million chickens
• More than 90% of the livestock population in the country is of
indigenous types, kept in the traditional sector, known for
their ability to survive and produce even under harsh
environment with poor feed resources.

4. Introduction
• The Sector grows 3.4% and contributes 3.8% to the
GDP; of this;
• 40% comes from beef,
• 30% from Dairy,
• 30% from other stock.
• Livestock is among the major agricultural sub-
sectors in Tanzania;
• 4.9 million agricultural households;
• 36% livestock households; and
• 35% are engaged in both crop and livestock
production

5. Introduction
• The dairy industry is among the important
components of the livestock sector;
- source of animal protein,
- Income; and
- employment.
• The sector has a great potential for improving the
living standards of the people and contributing
towards reduction of poverty.

6. Past Experience in Cattle
Improvement
• Selection within local breed
• Characterization of the indigenous cattle that was done since
1926 clearly described indigenous cattle strains/breeds.
Current work is on documentation of their performance
parameters both on farm and under station. Through the
work it was realized that there was genetic variation among
the local cattle which can be exploited beneficially.
• Major constraint to selection within the indigenous stock is
lack of a comprehensive recording system

7. Development of a composite breed
the Mpwapwa
• Early introductions of Bos Taurus cattle breeds for milk
production failed and crossbreeding also failed .
• Efforts were made to introduce Indo-Asian breeds (Red Sindhi
and Sahiwal) in the crosses produced earlier.
• After selection and controlled breeding a composite dual
purpose cattle breed was developed and declared in 1958.
The estimated genetic composition of the breed is 10%
European, 62% Indian breeds and the rest East African Zebu..
• The milk production of this breed ranges from 1500 – 2000
litres per lactation.

8. Introduction of Bos Taurus breeds
• Direct importation of Bos taurus dairy breeds.
• Crossbreeding of Zebu cattle with Bos Taurus.
• Bull Centres.
• Crossbreeding by Use of AI.
• Livestock Multiplication Units (LMUs).
• Multiplication within smallholder farms

9. Current Development of the Dairy
Industry
• The Dairy subsector is still young but developing;
• Aim is to modernize and commercialize the dairy
industry to make it competitive;
• Production of milk is mainly from indigenous
cattle, small proportion from improved dairy
cattle (crossbred of Friesian, Jersey, Ayrshire
breeds with the TSHZ)
• Production is mostly for the domestic market.

10. Milk Production
• Dairy Cattle;
– Population – 680,000 dairy cattle,
– Breed - mainly crossbreds,
– Current milk production - 1.65 billion Litres/annum
• Major production systems;
– Traditional system (indigenous cattle, concentrated in the
lake, Northern and Central zones).
– Commercial (dairy cattle) - improved cattle mainly
crossbreds in use; further subdivided into systems
integrated with crops, urban/peri-urban and a few
specialized medium and large-scale.

11. Milk Yield

12. Structure of the Dairy Industry
• smallholder dairy farms are relatively small in size
having 1–5 cows per household under Zero
grazing;
• specialized Medium Scale dairy farming
system, milk production is the main economic
activity of the farm, comprises of 10-50 cows;
• Large Scale dairy farms are farms with 50 or more
dairy cows. A number of such farms exist with a
total of about 32,100 dairy cattle.

13. Challenge 1: Increase the number of
dairy cattle
Addressed by:
– Improving AI services through better supply and
distribution
– Encouraging on farm breeding like the Iringa model
– Increase number of heifers produced in farms

14. Challenge 2: Seasonal supply of
feed
Addressed by:
– Improvements in feeding management by establishing
pastures,
– Providing concentrates and fodder preservation
– Encouraging farmers to invest in large scale dairy
farms

15. Milk Collection
• Practiced in areas with surplus milk above the local market
requirement which are connected to the markets mainly
found near peri and urban areas.
• Existing collection centers are operated through farmer’s
groups, processors, some traders who collect and sell to
processors or consumers.
• Seasonal availability of milk discourage establishment of
collection centers and processing plants.
• Milk collection for processing will only be feasible if there is
surplus production and a well established collection system
which entails bulking and transportation.

16. Milk Collection
• Dairy producer organisations make collection and
marketing of milk easier.
• A few dairy producer cooperatives exist in
Tanzania, mainly found in Tanga (where 13
societies with 3,004 members exist).
• Establishment of a well coordinated milk
collection network an entry point towards
successful milk processing and marketing

17. Milk Processing
• Products processed from these plants include pasteurised
milk, fermented milk, cheese, yoghurt, ghee and butter.
• Among the efforts to create a conducive environment for
development of the dairy industry, the government has
exempted import duties for milk packaging materials, some
equipment used in the collection, transportation and
processing of milk and milk products.
• Also, LGA’s are sensitizing the stakeholders to form
groups, associations and cooperative societies in order to
enhance milk collection, handling and processing.

18. Milk Marketing and Consumption
• Generally 10% of raw milk produced reaches both formal and
informal markets, of this only 2% is formally traded.
• Commercial sector in which about 30% of milk is
produced, the milk market share is apportioned as:
- neighbours (86.1%),
- local market (5.3%),
- traders at farm (4.6%) and
- processing factories (1.4%).

19. Milk Marketing and Consumption
• Milk is mainly marketed in urban and peri urban areas where
consumption is relatively higher.
• A study conducted by Austro Project Association, indicate that
79.2% of milk customers purchase raw milk and 40% of
consumers prefer fermented milk. Only a small (3.3%)
proportion of consumers buy pasteurised milk.
• About 41 m. ltrs. of milk is annually processed in the country
into pasteurised milk, UHT, cultured, ghee, butter, cheese and
cream and sold in the domestic market.

20. Milk Marketing and Consumption
Initiatives to expand and develop a sustainable domestic milk
market include;
– Milk Consumption Promotion Campaigns – Milk Promotion Week
conducted during May/June since 1998.
– School Milk Feeding Programmes currently implemented in 91 Schools
in 4 Districts.
– Increase in milk consumption levels will have a catalytic effect in
increasing demand thereby expanding the domestic milk market with
influence in improving processing and milk production.

21. Opportunities and Prospects
Large cattle herd, grazing land and pasture
resources
– A great opportunity for increasing milk production from indigenous cattle;
– Need for increase in number of dairy cattle from the current 680,000 to
about 3 million;
– Availability of AI services could enable this target to be achievable;
– Need for establishment of medium to large scale dairy farms to increase
quantities of milk produced in one locality thus realizing economies of
scale, minimizing seasonal variations, reducing milk collection and
transportation related problems

22. Opportunities and Prospects
Potential domestic and export markets
– Existence of potential domestic and regional markets - over 42.8
million people in Tanzania;
– A growing economy and an emerging middle class with relatively high
disposable income;
– Potentials not fully utilised, challenge is to expand the internal market
for milk and milk products and penetrate regional markets.
– Deployment of quality assurance systems along the value chain and
harmonisation of standards are important.
– Other strategies include conducting of generic milk promotion
campaigns (Milk Promotion Week, School Milk Feeding Programmes).

23. Opportunities and Prospects
Milk Processing
– Production of UHT and other milk products can cut
down importation bills on such milk products;
– Increase milk processing capacity from the current
30% to at least 75% in order to increase profitability of
the milk processing plants.

24. Opportunities and Prospects
Dairy Stakeholder Organisations;
– Strengthen TDB to organise and promote development of
dairy stakeholder’s organisations among other activities.
– Strengthen stakeholder’s organisations through
registration; formalisation, provision of
information, capacity building – training, skills
enhancement.
– Empower stakeholder organisations to access
production, marketing and financial services among
others.

25. Conclusions
Milk production is still low due to the small number of
dairy animals, systems of production and the low
demand of milk and milk products. These can be
overcome by;
– Upgrading of indigenous stock.
– Developing large scale farms and having an effective
extension system.
– Creating effective demand for milk consumption and
promoting investment in processing.
– Creating conducive environment to guarantee investors of
their investments and regulate the industry.