Africa-Press – Tanzania. Dar es Salaam will today host a meeting of stakeholders including policymakers, researchers, private sector and development actors deliberating on concrete actions needed to develop a sustainable dairy sector in Tanzania.
According to a statement released by International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Tanzania through Catherine Njuguna, who is also International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Regional Communication Officer/Eastern Africa in the city, yesterday the occasion will be graced by the Deputy Minister Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Abdallah Ulega, where participants will arrive at commitments to action for climate-smart dairy development in the country from policy and stakeholders.
She further said the policy briefing event will see the stakeholders sharing knowledge, findings, key insights and messages from research on dairy and environmental impacts in the country that are relevant to decision-making and policy formation.
“The debate will increase awareness on the importance of environmental issues and win-win solutions in smallholder dairy production among high-level stakeholders in Tanzania.
“This is one that delivers a double -win for the country’s food and income security, and economic development, and at the same time, contributes to efforts to protect the environment and slow down climate change.
“During the event, the research team will share knowledge and key insights from nearly a decade of joint research on climate-smart dairy development opportunities in Tanzania,” she pointed out.
The research was led by the Tanzania Livestock Research Institute (TALIRI), the Alliance of Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) as part of their joint country program research on how to sustainably develop the dairy sector in Tanzania.
This event is part of a learning series around livestock and climate change and follows up on a recent multi stakeholder consultation on environmental management on dairy production held in Arusha in December 2020. One of the identified win-win opportunities for the climate-smart intensification of dairy production is improved feeding and forages.
This come with the background that milk consumption is recommended by many nutritional guidelines for meeting daily requirements for calcium, animal proteins and vitamin B12 intake, where with comparison to other countries in the region, Tanzania’s current annual milk consumption of 45 litres per capita and still low. To encourage milk consumption, the country has to support various promotional events and programs, including school feeding
However, for this to happen, there is a need for joint priorities and concerted action by stakeholders in capacity building, policies and investments to scale the existing opportunities.
