Tanzania unveils competitive awards project to boost dairy industry

DODOMA: The Government, in collaboration with Heifer International Tanzania and other stakeholders, has launched the Tanzania Climate-Smart Dairy Prize Competition 2026 -2028 project aimed at increasing milk production, market access and income for livestock keepers in Tanzania.

The three-year project will be implemented in Iringa, Njombe, Mbeya and Morogoro regions, which are among the areas implementing the national plan to improve the dairy sector.
Speaking during the project launch in Dodoma, Deputy Minister for Livestock and Fisheries, Ng’wasi Kamani, said the Government had decided to work with stakeholders to establish a results-based system for measuring the outcomes of services provided to livestock keepers.

He said under the project, service providers working with smallholder dairy farmers in areas such as animal health, artificial insemination, feed and livestock management advisory services would receive rewards based on the results they achieve.

“For example, in artificial insemination, if a farmer uses quality semen at an affordable cost and the cow becomes pregnant and the pregnancy is confirmed, the service provider will receive 15 US dollars for each cow. If they serve 100 or 200 cows, how much would they earn? Therefore, we are rewarding service providers based on measurable results,” he said.

The Deputy Minister said the system would also ensure that services provided to farmers are verified so that investments made by development partners can be reflected in tangible results among the intended beneficiaries.

According to Mr Kamani, the verification process will be conducted by independent auditors who will follow up on services provided to farmers and ensure that they are delivered at prescribed prices and in accordance with established standards. He stressed that the project would not be a cause for an increase in service prices.
He said the initiative was part of the Government’s efforts to increase productivity in the livestock sector, despite Tanzania having more than 40 million livestock and being among the African countries with the largest livestock population.

“We recognise that our country has more than 40 million livestock, but productivity from these animals is still not high. It is through such efforts that we are starting projects with measurable results,” he said.
The Deputy Minister said the Government would continue working closely with development partners to ensure the project is implemented effectively and achieves its objective of strengthening the dairy industry.

For his part, Registrar of the Tanzania Dairy Board, George Msaja, said the project aims to increase milk production and expand markets, while helping livestock keepers boost production and secure reliable markets for their products.
Meanwhile, Heifer International Tanzania Executive Director, Mark Tsoxo, said the organisation had been working in Tanzania for more than 50 years in collaboration with the Government to develop the livestock sector.
He said Heifer International had reached approximately 1.3 million livestock-keeping households, equivalent to more than half of all livestock-keeping households in the country and had distributed approximately 282,000 improved dairy heifers.

“We have been working with the Government and other stakeholders to find ways of bringing stakeholders together to drive the development of Tanzania’s dairy industry. This project introduces a new system involving the private sector in providing services to livestock keepers, including feed, animal health, quality cattle breeding and livestock management education,” he said.

He said the project had also taken into account the effects of climate change, which could reduce milk production at a time when demand for dairy products continues to increase.

“The project brings together private-sector participation and ensures that appropriate approaches are introduced to build the capacity of livestock keepers to cope with climate change,” he said.

Project presenter from Heifer International, Edna Lusuva, said annual demand for milk in Tanzania was estimated at 13 billion litres, while current production stood at approximately 3.1 billion litres.

She said the gap was partly caused by farmers keeping cattle with low milk-producing capacity and failing to use quality feed.

“The project will help transform the livestock farming system and increase production by encouraging farmers to produce more and better-quality feed, while also opening up more market opportunities,” she said.
For his part, Nelson Msuya, an auditor from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), said the company had been selected as the independent verifier of the project’s results.

He said the company would use various methods to verify information submitted by project participants, including examining accounting books, sales receipts, product records and other supporting documents.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Dairy Producers Association, Hamisi Mzee, speaking on behalf of participants at the meeting, said they had received the directives issued by the Government and stakeholders and would ensure they were implemented to increase milk production in the country.

Earlier, livestock keeper Anna Almas from Mvomero called on dairy industry stakeholders to take advantage of the project to improve production, feed and services provided to livestock keepers in order to make the industry more productive.