A dairy cow in Tanga, Tanzania. The Tanzania livestock master plan will guide investment to develop the country’s livestock sector (photo credit: ILRI/Paul Karaimu).

IPPmedia reported last week that the Tanzania government has launched a Tsh1.4 trillion (USD596 million) livestock master plan that will guide investments to develop the country’s livestock sector over the next five years.

A livestock master plan is a vision-driven road map with action plans to improve animal productivity and production as well as the value addition of key livestock value chains. The Tanzania livestock master plan was developed in consultation with livestock experts and stakeholders, who came up with relevant and realistic interventions to address the livestock challenges Tanzania is facing and to take advantage of available opportunities.

The development of the  master plan, which started in Feb 2016, complements the Agricultural Sector Development Programme II (ASDP II), the Tanzania Livestock Modernization Initiative.

‘The Tanzania livestock master plan is designed to address all major challenges facing the sector, which will help the country achieve the Tanzania Development Vision 2025’, said Luhanga Mpina, minister of livestock and fisheries, during the launch of the livestock master plan on 10 Mar 2019 in Dar es Salaam. The minister said the plan ‘sets out livestock sector investment interventions on improved genetics, feed and water resources, health services’ and a huge investment in livestock industries and factories.

‘I urge our development partners and private sector to join hands with the Tanzania Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries to ensure that this plan is effectively and efficiently implemented for the betterment of the livestock sector’, he said.

‘Implementing the Tanzania livestock master plan is expected to yield enormous benefits for income, nutrition and employment in Tanzania. For example, for the dairy sub-sector alone, a projected 77% increase in milk production over five years (equivalent to 1.66 billion litres of milk) will create 66,000 jobs’, said Amos Omore, the Tanzania representative of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). This assessment is based on previous ILRI research showing that every 100 litres of marketed milk creates four jobs on- and off-farm from milk traders to milk transporters to dairy service providers. Omore added that ‘investing in the livestock sector to exploit the increasing demand for animal-derived foods in sustainable ways also requires addressing potential adverse effects on land, water and environment and the risks posed to animal and human health.’

The master plan was prepared by the Tanzania Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries in collaboration with ILRI and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Read the full story on Ippmedia: Govt launches Tanzania livestock master plan

Graça Machel, winner of this year’s World Prize for Integrated Development (photo credit: World Prize for Integrated Development).

The 2018 World Prize for Integrated Development has been awarded to Mrs Graça Machel for her significant social justice achievements and tireless work on behalf of women and children. In particular, Mrs Machel is recognized for her leadership of the Graça Machel Trust, a Pan-African advocacy organization focused on child health and nutrition, education, women’s economic and financial empowerment, leadership and good governance.

Sponsored by NIRAS, an international multidisciplinary consultancy that aims to be a catalyst for positive change, the World Prize is an accolade for outstanding contributions in the field of international development accorded to an individual or organization exemplifying an integrated approach in the field. Mrs Machel is the second esteemed Laureate, following in the footsteps of the late Dr Hans Rosling, founder of Gapminder.

‘Graça Machel is a remarkable human being and an outstanding example of the impact of integration in international development’, says Lindsay Falvey, Chair of the World Prize Selection Panel. ‘In addition to her humanitarian work, the Committee was impressed by her leadership of the Trust in integrating nations, programs and people while fulfilling its mission of “multiplying the faces and amplifying the voices of African women and children”. In particular, the support given to women entrepreneurs and their Pan-African networks has delivered significant contributions to social and economic change across the continent.’

The World Prize for Integrated Development and its EUR20,000 purse will be awarded to Mrs Machel on 12 Sep 2018 at the SA Innovation Summit, where the best of African and global innovators will showcase their exceptional talents, innovations and ideas. At the Summit, Mrs Machel will be the honoured guest of the Southern Africa Innovation Support (SAIS) program, a regional initiative strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship in Southern Africa supported by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland together with governments of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

Read the whole news release on the website of the World Prize for Integrated Development: Renowned Humanitarian Mrs Graça Machel Awarded World Prize for Integrated Development, 26 Apr 2018.

Note
Lindsay Falvey, from Australia, is Chair of the Board of the International Livestock Research Institute and a Director of Hassad Australia and the Institute for International Development. He is a special advisor to universities in Thailand and continues in an emeritus status at the University of Melbourne where he was previously Chair of Agriculture and Dean of Land and Food. A recipient of the Centenary Award of Australia, a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and a Life member of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, Prof. Falvey has managed a large international development company active across 60 countries and authored several books on integrated aspects of development. Dr Falvey has kindly accepted the role of Chair of the Selection Panel.

Sunn hemp (photo from Flickr by SARE Outreach).

Sunn hemp is a dual-purpose crop that improves soil fertility, which boosts crop yields, and provides nutritive feed for livestock. Agriculture researchers have concluded that the legume helps livestock and crop farmers better cope with the impacts of drought.

An online article in Africa Business Magazine explains how Zimbabwe’s small-scale mixed crop-livestock farmers are benefiting from cultivating sunn hemp.

The Zimbabwe Crop-Livestock Integration for Food Security (ZimCLIFS) project, in collaboration with Community Technology Development Organization and Cluster Agriculture Development Services, has introduced sunn hemp (crotalaria juncea) as a mulch and fodder crop to smallholder farmers in Goromonzi, Murewa, Mutoko and Uzumba districts of Mashonaland East Province.

The new crop provides an alternative source of livestock fodder for Zimbabwe’s smallholder crop-livestock farmers who often must choose between using maize residues for mulching or feeding livestock.

According to the article, ‘maize residues are often needed for feeding livestock during the dry winter months and for mulching the soil when practicing [conservation agriculture] techniques which involve providing at least 30% permanent soil cover using live or dead mulches, crop rotation and reduced soil disturbance.’

Simon Madhovi, a smallholder farmer who is intercropping sunn hemp with maize, and also using sunn hemp for mulching in the province says ‘Sunn hemp has helped to improve the poor soil in his farm and allowed him to feed maize residues to cattle.

Sikhalazo Dube, a livestock Scientist and ILRI Southern Africa representative, says that ‘livestock, just like soils, need to be healthy to be productive.’

Read the whole article in the Africa Agribusiness Magazine: Making mulch and fodder while sunn hemp shines, 23 May 2017.

Cattle grazing on Brachiaria grass at the ILRI campus in Nairobi, Kenya (photo credit: ILRI/Collins Mutai).

The following excerpts are taken from an opinion piece published by An Notenbaert, a former scientist with ILRI for 11 years who now serves as the tropical forages coordinator for Africa at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

‘With the onset of the rains, livestock farmers around Kenya might breathe a sigh of relief. But they have come too late for the thousands of cattle that have already died, hit by the drought that led President Uhuru Kenyatta to declare a national disaster in February this year. . . .

Yet this phenomenon is one which will not be solved by rain alone. It is down to a few, fundamental challenges which go deeper than drought.

Across east and southern Africa, livestock farmers routinely face the same hurdles in increasing meat and milk production: low availability of good quality livestock feed, especially during the dry season.

Our research shows that new, high-quality, drought-tolerant forage grasses could boost milk production by up to 40 percent, generating millions of dollars in economic benefits for struggling East African dairy farmers.

‘Some of these new varieties of a grass called Brachiaria, are high-yielding, nutritious and, because they are easier for cows to digest, animals produce far less of the greenhouse gas methane per liter of milk produced.

‘These benefits make it the most extensively used tropical forage in the world, with seed production already commercialized in big cattle-producing countries like Brazil. Yet Brachiaria grass originates in Africa. . . .

‘We are starting to explore the technical and economic feasibility of commercial Brachiaria production in Zambia. Locally, available seed could be more affordable for livestock farmers, especially considering that feed constitutes at least 60 percent of the costs involved in keeping livestock.’

We already know that boosting dairy production can be a critical first step out of poverty. Homegrown seed production could mean potentially millions of farmers make that step.

Making seed available in Africa for Africa, would be a start—together with an awareness raising drive to convince livestock keepers to grow and preserve forages and feed while making a profit.

Read the whole opinion piece
At Business Daily (Kenya): Drought masks deeper problem with animal feed, 30 Apr 2017
On the CIAT News blog: Kenya’s drought masks a deeper problem with livestock feed, 12 May 2017

Read more about Brachiaria
Climate-smart Brachiaria grass helps Kenyan farmers withstand global warming effects, ILRI Clippings blog, 27 Apr 2017
Brachiaria grass can help Kenya’s dryland food producers improve their soils and yields under a changing climate, ILRI News blog, 21 Apr 2017
Study finds 40% more milk and tens of millions of dollars in revenue possible for African farmers adopting new drought-resistant pasture grass, CIAT News blog, 1 Nov 2016
Brachiaria: The ‘wonder grass’ that could transform African dairy, ILRI Clippings blog, 14 Jun 2016
Kenyan livestock farmers reap benefits of climate-smart Brachiaria grasses, ILRI Clippings blog, 28 Sep 2015
Improved Brachiaria grasses broaden horizon for Kenya’s livestock sector, BecA-ILRI Hub blog, 24 Sep 2015
Making grass greener: CIAT breeds tropical pasture that suppresses greenhouse gas emissions, ILRI Clippings blog, 28 Sep 2013
Secrets of Brachiaria: An African pasture grass holds enormous promise for reducing greenhouse gases, ILRI Clippings blog, 15 Sep 2013

Cattle kept under a pen-fattening program in Chivi District, Zimbabwe (photo credit: FAO/Believe Nyakudjara).

‘Growing up in Chiware Village in Rusape, Manicaland province, vivid memories of tending to the family’s herd of cattle remain etched in the mind. Cattle are an integral part of every household, not only in Zimbabwe, but Africa as a whole.

The poignant memories of that herd with each beast carrying a specific name never die. In our herd were the oxen; Boxen, United and Point, as well as one particular cow called Shine.

‘Boxen (probably from Boxing) was popular for his huge stature and regular victories in cattle fights. United was infamous for goring the old grandfather who had to be ferried to Rusape District Hospital to have his mouth sutured. Even when United had to be put down for relish at a funeral, a painful decision had to be made.

‘Point, well, the ox returned home three months after being moved to Buhera to cover a family debt. Shine was known for her beautiful white coat with brown spots—a marvel of a cow.

‘These nostalgic memories are shared by rural farmers on the continent. They were triggered during deliberations during the International Conference on Livestock Value Chain and Access to Credit recently held in Ezulwini, Swaziland.

‘The conference was organised by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in partnership with the Swaziland Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (Swade) and the Micro Finance Unit, Swaziland (MFU).

‘It was agreed, at that forum, that rural farmers created and grew a certain attachment to their livestock. This, it was further observed, played a major part in hindering farmers from commercially benefiting from their herds. . . .

At the Ezwilini Conference, experts were trying to find ways to unlock the livestock value chain, finances and access to credit for rural farmers. They probed issues to do with improving the livelihoods of livestock smallholder farmers and other value chain actors through value addition and marketing. These, it was noted, was constrained by lack of access to finance, working capital, affordable quality inputs, and well-structured value chains. . . .

New Zealand’s Lincoln Centre for International Development Professor Karl M. Rich said access to credit is an important constraint for the participation of smallholders into high-value agricultural and livestock value chains. . . .

ILRI regional representative for Southern Africa, Professor Sikhalazo Dube said beef was an integral part of agricultural activities for farmers.

‘There is, however, a need to unlock the value in livestock production. Farmers need to understand that the cattle they keep have value and they can make money out of these animals,’ he said.

‘His organisation has successfully launched the beef value chain finance initiative in Swaziland where farmers work in groups to set up pen fattening projects.

‘Working as business entities, farmers apply for loans from financial institutions and construct feed lots housing at least 25 cattle. They buy cattle, fatten the animals using locally available resources and re-sale to the market.

‘The farmers earn at least $15 000 after a three months circle with the beasts going for sale at 15–18 months of age. In Swaziland, the farmers are guaranteed a $100 000 fund through a local bank and can borrow up to R200 000 ($15 000) for the projects.

‘“Understanding the challenges faced by African farmers such as droughts and the need to make livestock production profitable, this model provides farmers to make money out of their activities,” he said. . . .

‘Beef cattle fattening using fodder based ration involves feeding of beef cattle with a protein balanced, high-energy diet for a period of 70 to 120 days. This is done under confinement to increase live weights while improving degree of finish for better grades at the abattoir.’

Read the whole article by Sydney Kawadza in The Herald (Zimbabwe): Unlocking value of rural livestock, 2 Mar 2017.

Cattle in Zimbabwe waiting to be weighed before the auction (photo credit: ICISAT/Swathi Sridharan).

Rural farmers in Zimbabwe and the whole of Southern Africa are set to receive a major boost in their livestock production through the expected launch of the beef value chain finance initiative this year.

‘The initiative, whose pilot project was successfully undertaken in Swaziland, includes a loan scheme for smallholder farmers who want to take up beef fattening for the market.

‘This came out during the on-going International Conference on Livestock Value Chain and Access to Credit being held in Ezulwini, Swaziland.

‘The conference is being hosted by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in partnership with the Swaziland Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (Swade) and the Micro Finance Unit, Swaziland (MFU).

The beef value chain finance initiative would see farmers working as business entities, apply for loans from financial institutions, construct feed lots housing for at least 25 cattle and fatten these using locally available water sources to grow forage on two hectare plots for feeding the animals.

Under the initiative, farmers can earn at least US$15 000 after a circle with the beasts going to the market at 15–18 months of age.

ILRI regional representative for Southern Africa, Professor Sikhalazo Dube said the project is anchored on producing cheap but high quality feed for livestock production.

“We are launching the project in Mozambique soon but other countries like Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana and Tanzania are clamouring for such initiatives. . . .

International Fund for Agricultural Development lead technical specialist Dr Antonio Rota said his organisation was ready to roll out the programme across Southern Africa.

“We are also ready to support farmers in the region as it is our mandate to support rural areas in accessing these initiatives.”

Dr Rota called farmers to come up with initiatives promoting the use of locally available resources for feedstock.

“We are desperately looking for such initiatives and we can pay for these,” he said. . . .

‘The conference is looking at issues to do with improving the livelihoods of livestock smallholders and other value chain actors through livestock value addition and marketing, which is constrained by the lack of access to finance, working capital, affordable quality inputs, and well-structured value chains.’

Read the whole article in The Herald (Zimbabwe): Zim to benefit from livestock production, 23 Feb 2017. Republished on The Cattle Site on 24 Feb 2017.

See also:
MD happy with women in feedlot project, Swazi Observer, 24 Feb 2017.
Feed cost major constraint for feedlot farmers, Swazi Observer, 23 Feb 2017.
Nedbank gets accolades for supporting feedlot project, Swazi Observer, 23 Feb 2017.
Swazi beef model boats six registered feedlots, Swazi Observer, 21 Feb 2017.

Visit the event website
Improving the livelihoods of livestock smallholders and other value chain actors through livestock value addition and marketing is constrained by the lack of access to finance, working capital, affordable quality inputs, and well-structured value chains.  To address this issue, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in partnership with the Swaziland Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (SWADE) and the Micro Finance Unit, Swaziland (MFU) organized an international conference on livestock value chain finance and access to credit. The forum was held in Swaziland on 21–23 Feb 2017.

The conference was organized with financial support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) (@IFADnews) and as part of the research on value chains under the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) (CGIAR) (@PIM_CGIAR).

Produced by ILRI researchers and partners in Zimbabwe, the brief gives practical steps on how smallholder farmers can make hay from grasses and legumes such as cowpeas, velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens) lablab (Lablab purpureus) including details on cutting, conditioning and storage of hay.

Hay is a very popular form of forage preservation that provides an important source of animal feed in smallholder farming systems where natural rangeland is increasingly limited.

Download the brief: Principles of haymaking using tropical grasses and legumes

A new artificial insemination technology could improve dairy production in Tanzania (photo credit: ILRI/Niels Teufel).

According to an online article in The Citizen of 10 November 2016, the technology, which is known as ‘AI shield’, was launched by two American firms in the country. It provides a simple cold chain solution that protects frozen bull semen from adverse temperatures, resulting in increased likelihood of AI fertilization success. Worthington Industries and Global Good designed the technology targeting smallholder farmers who fail to handle semen properly; to reduce fertilization failure and lessen spread of venereal diseases in cattle.

AI shield complements several other livestock breeding improvement efforts in the country, including those by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). ILRI which is working with local partners to enhance Tanzania’s dairy sector by making it inclusive and sustainable for smallholder dairy farmers under a program known as Maziwa Zaidi.

Projects such as the African Dairy Genetic Gains (ADGG) program which supports a farmer-focused partnership that records and disseminates on-farm productivity and genetic information on dairy cattle in Tanzania could make use of the technology.

Read the full story ‘Great boost to dairy farming as artificial insemination technology launched’.

Feed is scarce for livestock in the dry season in Zimbabwe. Farmers can lose up to 30% of their herds in these three months (photo credit: Swathi Sridharan/ICRISAT).

‘Southern African farmers facing hunger as a result of worsening drought know a lot about climate change but lack the resources to put solutions that work into place, agriculture and development researchers say. . . .

‘In many cases, farmers are simply not aware of potential solutions, said Oluyede Ajayi, a senior programme coordinator with the [Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation], speaking on the sidelines of a regional meeting this week in Johannesburg on scaling up climate-smart agricultural solutions.

‘Such shortcomings are one reason an ongoing drought in southern Africa has left 23 million people dependent on food aid, with another 13 million in need of help, according to the Southern African Development Community, which launched a $2.8 billion emergency appeal in July.

‘But a new regional push, focused on promoting four key actions to adapt agriculture and curb growing hunger, could help, Ajayi said.

‘The best ways to assist southern Africa’s farmers, agricultural experts said, are by increasing their access to insurance for crop failure and livestock deaths, and giving them better weather advice via mobile phone. . . .

“[G]oats, sheep and chickens are considered animals that can take care of themselves, unlike other animals,” said Sikhalazo Dube, a southern African representative of the International Livestock Research Institute.

Southern Africa so far this year has lost over 630,000 cattle, worth an estimated $220 million, to drought, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

‘That money could have been saved if farmers had taken out insurance on their livestock, slaughtered them early in the face of drought warnings or found ways to feed them as pastures dried up, said Godwin Mashiri, a micro-insurance expert with mobile phone company Econet Wireless, based in Zimbabwe.

‘But persuading farmers to buy indexed insurance, which provides payouts when certain weather triggers are reached—such as a certain number of days without rain—remains a struggle, he admitted. . . .’

In Zimbabwe, some farmers in Mashonaland East province have adapted to the dryer weather by growing drought-resistant feed for their livestock, such as cowpea or velvet beans, alongside maize, the region’s staple crop.

The project, funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research, has helped dairy farmers keep animals alive and helped them avoid buying costly commercial feed to get their animals through the drought, Dube said. . . .

Read the whole article by Busani Bafana, Smarter farming could cut hunger in drought-hit southern Africa—researchers, Thomson Reuters Foundation, 15 Sep 2016.

Read a related article on ILRI’s Sustainable Livestock Digest:  Are cows the next development boom for smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe?, 19 Sep 2016.

For more information about ILRI’s research in southern Africa, consult Sikhalazo Dube, ILRI representative for southern Africa, at s.dube@cgiar.org, or visit this ILRI website portal.

Charles Murithi, Kenyan farmer (photo credit: BurnessGlobal/Jeff Haskins).

For middle-class Tanzanians . . . a successful farmer trumps a successful academic. . . . [A] quiet, hard-to-track but momentous change [is happening] in Africa, which has profound consequences for the continent’s most important industry.

‘[I]n Kenya, Malawi and Zambia (though not in Ghana) most medium-sized farms were not built by successful smallholders but bought by urbanites. In Tanzania, where about one-third of the population is urban, city-dwellers are thought to own 33% of the farmland, up from just 12% a decade ago. Typically, the new farmers are middle-aged public-sector workers.

The popular obsession with foreign land grabs is wrong-headed, says Isaac Minde of Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro. If there is a land grab in Africa, it is being done by African urbanites.

‘City-dwellers are going into farming partly because legal reforms have made buying land easier and ownership a little more secure. Another reason is that urban growth is making crops and meat more valuable. Still another is the weakness of African manufacturing, which means city-dwellers lack good places to invest their cash. Most important of all, public-sector jobs seldom pay enough to sustain an upper-middle-class lifestyle.

Mr Kavishe, who grows maize and keeps several thousand laying hens, is surprised to be asked whether he earns more than he did as a university administrator. Of course the chickens are more lucrative.

‘. . . Tanzania’s urban farmers also have one foot in the old Africa and another foot in the new one. They are mostly the children of farmers and found it easy to return to the family line. Yet these men are not quite following their parents. . . . [T]hey farm close to the cities where they made their careers. Several predict that their children will have no interest in farming. They are a transitional generation. In a strange way, the rush to acquire farmland shows that Africa is becoming properly urban.’

Read the whole article in The Economist: Africa’s real land grab: Never mind foreign interlopers—African urbanites are scooping up more land, 23 Jul 2016.