TANZANIA – The Tanzania Dairy Board (TDB) has called on stakeholders to seize opportunities and invest in the dairy sector to address the significant gap between milk production and demand in the country.
This appeal was made by TDB Registrar, Prof. George Msalya, during a workshop for journalists in Dar es Salaam. Currently, Tanzania produces 3.9 billion litres of milk annually, far below the demand of 12 billion litres.
Prof. Msalya highlighted that the shortfall of 9 billion litres has led the government to import milk, despite Tanzania having the second-largest livestock population in Africa.
He pointed out that many livestock keepers do not breed modern dairy cows, contributing to the low production.
Last year, Tanzania imported 11 million litres of milk from over 10 countries, costing the country 23 billion Tanzanian shillings (US$8.8 million). Prof. Msalya emphasized the need to train farmers in modern livestock practices to boost domestic production.
The TDB, a government institution under the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, regulates the dairy industry to ensure productivity and national development. Prof. Msalya urged journalists to educate the public on the importance of milk consumption and proper milk handling.
Tanzania has 252 milk collection centres, yet only 12% of the country’s best milk reaches the official collection system.
To address this, the government, through the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB), is providing loans to strengthen the dairy industry and improve the milk collection system.
A recent study led by Lancaster University in the UK, published in Nature Food, supports these efforts. The study found that adopting high-yield dairy cattle breeds and improving feed could significantly increase Tanzania’s milk production, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and alleviate poverty.
The research aligned with the Tanzanian Dairy Development Roadmap (DDR), which aims for dairy self-sufficiency by 2030 and to reduce dependency on imports.
The study surveyed 1,200 dairy farmers and showed that improved breeds, which are crosses between local cattle and high-yielding European cows, can produce three times more milk while still coping with the local climate.
According to the study, implementing these findings could help Tanzania meet its goals of becoming self-sufficient in milk and cutting greenhouse gas emissions by a third, while also increasing farmers’ incomes.
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