By: Anne Zaczek, U.S. Grains Council Manager of Global Development Programs

The U.S. Council (USGC) is becoming recognized in Tanzania as a reliable source of information and a trusted partner following the launch of its Food for Progress program in that country earlier this year. The program has made advancement towards its primary goals: promoting quality feed formulations for poultry; developing self-sufficient industry associations for poultry producers and feed manufacturers; and improving broiler and layer production through training seminars.

Already, the Council has seen success with this program. USGC consultants have worked with a layer farm over the last year improving poultry production practices and bio-security, leading to an increase of more than 20,000 layers on this farm.

Efforts toward improving feed quality started with updating the government feed quality laboratory in the region. The Council has steadily updated the lab’s utilities, including water and electricity, to prepare for the installation of modern equipment. The modernized lab will streamline the process of testing the quality of ingredients going into feed.

Along with infrastructure, the Council assisted in training the laboratory staff on new equipment and feed quality practices. In the initial stages of the program, only four feed quality analyses were completed daily. Now, the staff is completing 10 to 15 tests each day.

The Council is also working with the Tanzania Poultry Breeders Association (TPBA) and Tanzania Feed Miller Association (TFMA) to assist these organizations in becoming trusted resources that will continue to help the poultry industry develop. The associations’ growing sophistication is also helping grow their membership. For example, TPBA membership is up from 12 last April when the program began to 24 now.   

Finally, the Council has been conducting training seminars with the assistance of TFMA and TPBA for Tanzanian poultry producers and feed manufacturers. These training programs continue to grow and expand to additional regions near Dar es Salaam.

The poultry industry in Tanzania is growing as more and more people are investing in poultry for income, pensions or entrepreneurship. The Council welcomes this news as the expansion of the poultry industry in feed-deficient Tanzania will be a principal driver in the growth of the coarse grain trade in this country.