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TANZANIA has held on to the second slot country in terms of largest cattle population on the African continent, recently released statistics show.
New cattle data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Mwanza yesterday showed that Tanzania has an estimated total of 33.9 million head of cattle, with Ethiopia leading the way with 60.39 million head of cattle. .
Conscious of its livestock wealth, the Tanzanian government has focused on improving the sector by expanding the market for meat, hides and skins within and outside its borders.
Contained in the Preliminary Report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on the Census of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries for 2019/2020, the new data also highlights the number of other types of livestock such as sheep and goats, as well as the production of crops.
NBS CEO Dr. Albina Chuwa said the researchers / statisticians also found that small farmers had 24.5 million goats, while large farmers had 33.347 million.
“In the survey carried out, farmers were found with 8.5 million sheep while farmers had 24.236 million. Again, the peasants found 3.2 million pigs while the farmers had 5.153 million, ”he said.
The survey also found that the country had a total of 87.7 million chickens, of which 75.1 million were owned by small farmers while 12.6 million were large-scale.
Similarly, it was found in the survey that small farmers produced 3.1 billion and 53.1 million liters of cow’s and goat’s milk, respectively, while spray-type and immersion-type drugs were mentioned as the methods that they were used to control ticks on cattle.
The Census Report also showed that around 30,261 households were found involved in fish farming activities with 21,704 families, which is equivalent to 71.7 percent of tilapia farming, producing 10,690 tons.
On the side of cereal-related crops, he said, around 9.1 million tons of corn, rice and sorghum were produced, of which 5.7 million tons, equivalent to 62.5 percent were corn, while 2.9 million tons, equivalent to 32.1 percent, were rice. .
Sorghum registered 488,724 tons, equivalent to 5.4 percent. Some 1.6 million tonnes of cassava, sweet and Irish potatoes were also produced, as well as 599.461 million tonnes of oilseeds, according to the head of NBS.
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“For commercial crops, coffee registered 92,396 tons while tea registered 40,611 tons. While cotton registered 445,972 tons, cloves registered 3,378 tons.
The census also shows that around 13.5 million hectares were cultivated for various crops, with 76.7% using traditional seeds and 20.8% applying modern seeds.
About 2.5 percent of the land was cultivated with the application of traditional and modern seeds.
The Census Coordinator in Zanzibar, Mr. Mwalimu Juma Mohammed, said that there were positive changes in all the surveyed areas (on the Islands) compared to the situation seen ten years ago (2007/2018), when the Census was conducted.
He cited an example of the increase in the number of small farmers, from 32,000 households to more than 200,000, equivalent to 57 percent, as well as an increase in livestock, from 155,624 to 270,457 to date.
“We found improvements in all areas, and farmers mentioned the availability of agricultural inputs among the factors. Some relevant authorities have also been providing regular public education, telling farmers what to do in a given area,” said the Coordinator.
