Tanzania is targeting a bigger share of international livestock markets after its national vaccination and identification campaign helped open new export destinations for locally produced vaccines, meat, live animals and eggs.
The campaign, launched in June 2025, is strengthening disease control in the livestock sector while improving Tanzania's ability to meet international animal health and food safety requirements.
The gains include new markets for locally manufactured vaccines in Mongolia, Botswana, Ghana and Israel, as well as access to the Mauritius market for beef, goat and sheep meat and live animals.
Livestock Services Director in the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Dr Benezeth Malinda, said the achievements demonstrated the economic importance of investing in animal disease prevention and surveillance.
He was representing the ministry's Permanent Secretary, Agnes Meena, at the conclusion of the In-Service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (ISAVET) for veterinary officers from Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar in Morogoro.
The training was supported by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
Dr Malinda said the campaign had helped improve confidence among importing countries by demonstrating Tanzania's capacity to control livestock diseases and prevent their transmission through animal products.
"These countries have come to conduct inspections and satisfy themselves that we have the capacity to control diseases and ensure that we do not export diseases through livestock and their products to their markets," he said.
The development is significant for livestock keepers, meat processors and vaccine manufacturers seeking to expand beyond the domestic market, where animal disease outbreaks can undermine production, trade and household incomes.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan launched the five-year national livestock vaccination and identification campaign in June 2025. It runs until 2030 and aims to control diseases that affect livestock trade and those that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
To finance the programme, the government committed TZS216 billion, of which TZS62.2 billion was released during the 2025/26 financial year.
According to Dr Malinda, the money is being used to procure vaccines, electronic livestock identification tags and vaccination equipment, as well as meet operational costs for extension officers conducting the exercise in local government authorities.
The expenditure also covers fuel for vehicles and motorcycles and specialised cold-chain boxes to ensure vaccines remain at the required temperatures.
For the 2026/27 financial year, the second year of implementation, the government has allocated another TZS30.8 billion.
"Contracts for vaccine procurement have already been completed and distribution has started. Payments for vaccinators have also started reaching various councils, depending on the size and number of livestock in their respective areas," he said.
The campaign is also supporting growth in the poultry industry, with vaccination of indigenous chickens against Newcastle disease and avian influenza contributing to improved productivity and increased value of parent-stock farms producing broiler and layer chicks.
Tanzania has also secured new export markets for eggs in China, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Cameroon.
Dr Malinda said the new destinations reflected the wider commercial benefits of controlling animal diseases, particularly for producers seeking access to markets with strict health requirements.
"All these are new markets secured following the introduction of the livestock vaccination and identification campaign. We thank the President for recognising the importance of directing funds towards controlling livestock diseases," he said.
The expansion of export markets is accompanied by a sharp increase in Tanzania's meat exports, according to figures presented by Dr Malinda.
He said the country exported 14,234 tonnes of meat in the 2025/26 financial year, up from 669 tonnes in 2020, 1,770 tonnes in 2021 and approximately 10,000 tonnes in 2022.
The government is targeting annual meat exports of 50,000 tonnes by 2030, a goal that will require continued investment in animal health, disease surveillance and the capacity of producers and processors to meet international standards.
However, sustaining the growth will depend on maintaining effective disease-control systems and ensuring that livestock products consistently meet the requirements of importing countries.
Meanwhile, FAO Dodoma Animal Health Specialist and ISAVET training coordinator, Dr Moses Ol Neselle, said the training was intended to strengthen veterinary professionals' ability to respond to animal health risks associated with climate change.
He said changing climatic conditions were contributing to the emergence and spread of livestock diseases, making early detection and timely intervention increasingly important.
The training is expected to equip veterinary officers with skills to identify diseases quickly, report suspected cases and take appropriate measures to contain outbreaks before they spread.
For Tanzania's livestock sector, the challenge now is to translate the growing access to international markets into sustainable opportunities for livestock keepers, poultry farmers, processors and local vaccine manufacturers.
That will require consistent vaccination coverage, reliable disease surveillance and stronger veterinary services to protect both animal health and the country's expanding export trade.