President Kikwete launches the Cattle
Replenishing Initiative in Monduli District, Arusha Region in which
thousands of herders will benefit from government-donated cows.
The move was aimed at enhancing pastoral production through innovative value chain approaches in breeding, feeding and health.
The project comes under the programme for Enhancing Pro-poor Innovations in Natural Resources and Agricultural Value –chains (Epinav) which started in 2011 and is expected to end next year.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Guardian in Morogoro at the weekend, SUA senior lecturer and Epinav Coordinator for Research and Strategic interventions, (RSI) Prof Lusato Kurwijila said the projects help to address weak links in the beef and milk value chains.
“The main objective of these projects is to enhance beef and milk productivity and marketing systems of pastoral communities in order to ensure constant supply. By doing so, livelihood security is promoted through greater participation of pastoral communities along the product’s value chain,” he said.
He said the projects are being carried out by a multidisciplinary research team comprised members with various complementing expertise.
“The projects are guided by a value chain framework, and will analyse holistically pastoral cattle and the milk market and promote increased production through the introduction and up-scaling of appropriate technologies which have been tested and proved to contribute to improved cattle productivity,” he said.
Prof Kurwijila explained further that the projects in Kilosa, Monduli, Hanang and Longido districts are focusing on identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the beef and milk value chain among pastoral communities.
“These projects organise pastoralists into groups, improve environment and cattle production systems, increase linkages to the market while cooperating with other stakeholders in order to improve profitability and livelihood of the pastoralists,” he said.
He noted: “It is envisaged that the projects will empower pastoral farmers through training in entrepreneurial skills for sustainable sources of income and livelihood, the key stakeholders including pastoral livestock keepers which involved in planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation of the project activities.”
After the projects come to a close, food security, livelihoods, as well as understanding of conflict mitigation and resilience to climate change issues in pastoral communities will be improved, he said.
Prof Hezron Karimuribo is leading a pastoral systems project being implemented in Kilosa District which is in nine divisions, 46 wards and 164 villages, of which a total of 16 wards have high livestock intensity, and 22 villages are of pure pastoralist farmers. The project is therefore highly relevant to the farmers in the district in their effort to increase access to beef and milk markets.
“Farmers are strengthened in entrepreneur skills through micro projects and husbandry practices, which may include improvement of genetic potential of indigenous pastoral zebu cattle through the promotion of use of artificial insemination and hand -mating of bulls, disease and parasite control,” he said.
He pointed out that land use planning, pasture improvement and management, control of grazing regimes, fodder conservation, feed supplementation and dry season feeding strategies, as well as training farmers in hygiene and safety issues of beef and milk from the primary point of production will be conducted throughout the whole value chain.
The purpose of Epinav is to enhance productivity, livelihood security and human capacity of target communities to utilise pro-poor and Climate Change adapted innovations in agriculture and natural resources value chains.
“The principal objective of the Epinav programme is therefore to address up-scaling of proven technologies and promote adoption of agriculture and natural resources to the effects of Climate Change,” he said.
Epinav pursues its objectives by funding research proposals that directly contribute to realisation of the programme outputs and purpose.
To qualify for funding under Epinav, the projects must not only enhance frontiers of knowledge but be applied and useful to end users, who are mainly smallholder farmers and other value chain actors.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
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