The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Professor Riziki Shemdoe, has called on livestock keepers particularly the youth to embrace commercial livestock farming by establishing, owning, developing, and investing in designated grazing areas and necessary infrastructure.
He said such investments are key to addressing the challenges associated with nomadic pastoralism, which continues to be a major driver of land-use conflicts in many parts of the country.
Prof. Shemdoe made the remarks in Morogoro during the Tanzania Rangelands Day, which was marked alongside a scientific symposium for experts in the livestock sector.
According to him, the government, through the Build a Better Tomorrow (BBT) program, has supported 106 youths by allocating 10 acres of land each at the Kagoma Ranch. Organized into 20 groups, these young livestock keepers were granted a total of TZS 934.2 million in loans from the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) to kick-start their ventures.
“To ensure sustainable livestock farming, we are encouraging pastoralists to formalize and legally own rangelands, invest in their development, and install essential infrastructure. This will not only improve productivity but also reduce land conflicts and promote peaceful coexistence,” he said.
Prof. Shemdoe further noted that the Ministry, in collaboration with stakeholders, is implementing various initiatives to improve access to water and pasture in grazing areas. These include the construction of dams and drilling of deep wells.
“While the government is playing its part, it cannot build all the water infrastructure alone. Livestock keepers are therefore encouraged to actively participate in the development of water sources to help their livestock access water, especially during the dry season,” he added.
The Chairman of the Tanzania Rangelands Society (RST), Professor Ismail Selemani, emphasized the importance of proper rangeland management, noting that these lands are vital to food security, income generation, and poverty reduction.
He applauded the Ministry for its efforts in land-use planning, expansion of grazing zones, and initiatives to improve pasturelands.
On his part, Dr. Talik Saleh Suleiman, Director General of the Zanzibar Livestock Research Institute, highlighted opportunities in producing poultry feed locally.
He acknowledged existing challenges in importing feed from mainland Tanzania but stressed that Zanzibar has the potential to manufacture its own animal feed and capitalize on this market.
In a related development, Prof. Shemdoe announced that the Ministry is in the process of establishing a Livestock Products and Infrastructure Authority to regulate and coordinate various aspects of the sector.
He also revealed that in the 2023/2024 financial year, the Ministry through the Rangeland Restoration Project—initiated research on indigenous pasture seeds in degraded rangelands.
Trials conducted in seed nurseries have shown promising results, with successful germination of the tested varieties.
