Irrigated Improved forages for smallholder dairy in Kilosa, Mvomero and Babati Districts, Tanzania

Irish Ai

The role of fodder markets in meeting the year‐round forage requirements of smallholder dairy farmers in Tanzania

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbei

Fodder market opportunities for smallholder dairying in Tanzania

Irish Ai

Farmers’ Perceptions on Different Forage Types in Southern Highlands of Tanzania

Feed and forages take the bulk of inputs required in livestock production. Inadequate forages in quality and quantity in sub-Saharan Africa is responsible for low livestock productivity. Addressing livestock feed requirements presents quick wins in livestock productivity compared to breeding and health. In a Climate Smart Dairy project implemented in Tanzania, we demontrated several forage options to farmers including, two cultivars of Pennisetum purpureum, two Urochloa hybrids, Chrloris gayana and Tripsacum andersonii (control). Where applicable, the grasses were intercropped with either one of the following forage legume, Desmodium intortum, Lablab purpureus or Stylosanthes guiyanensis. Fourteen forage treaments were obtained in the end, replicated thrice in each of three sites. Locations were Kichiwa ward in Njombe district, Igowole ward in Mufindi district and Lufingo ward in Rungwe district of southern highlands in Tanzania. In each ward, farmers were guided in generating and scoring criteria of importance to them, which later they subjected to the treatments in respective sites. On plot by plot basis, individual farmers, scored (1–9) treatments against the criteria. We pooled the scores together to generate weighted scores. The higher the weigheted score, the higher the preference. Clear differences emerged across the sites. In the three sites, all treatments scored higher than the control. High farmers’ preference suggests the forages stand good chances of adoption, when the seeds/planting materials are available. The results would be valuable to frontline livestock extension agents in the areas and other similar agricultural context

Genetic diversity and population structure of Urochloa grass accessions from Tanzania using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers

Urochloa (syn.—Brachiaria s.s.) is one of the most important tropical forages that transformed livestock industries in Australia and South America. Farmers in Africa are increasingly interested in growing Urochloa to support the burgeoning livestock business, but the lack of cultivars adapted to African environments has been a major challenge. Therefore, this study examines genetic diversity of Tanzanian Urochloa accessions to provide essential information for establishing a Urochloa breeding program in Africa. A total of 36 historical Urochloa accessions initially collected from Tanzania in 1985 were analyzed for genetic variation using 24 SSR markers along with six South American commercial cultivars. These markers detected 407 alleles in the 36 Tanzania accessions and 6 commercial cultivars. Markers were highly informative with an average polymorphic information content of 0.79. The analysis of molecular variance revealed high genetic variation within individual accessions in a species (92%), fixation index of 0.05 and gene flow estimate of 4.77 showed a low genetic differentiation and a high level of gene flow among populations. An unweighted neighbor-joining tree grouped the 36 accessions and six commercial cultivars into three main clusters. The clustering of test accessions did not follow geographical origin. Similarly, population structure analysis grouped the 42 tested genotypes into three major gene pools. The results showed the Urochloa brizantha (A. Rich.) Stapf population has the highest genetic diversity (I = 0.94) with high utility in the Urochloa breeding and conservation program. As the Urochloa accessions analyzed in this study represented only 3 of 31 regions of Tanzania, further collection and characterization of materials from wider geographical areas are necessary to comprehend the whole Urochloa diversity in Tanzania

Preliminary Evaluation of Slaughter Value and Carcass Composition of Indigenous Sheep and Goats from Traditional Production System in Tanzania

The aim of the pilot study was to evaluate slaughter characteristics and carcass composition of indigenous long fat tailed sheep and Small East African goats purchased from the auction markets slaughtered at 1.5 to 2 yrs of age and 20 kg to 25 kg live weight. The animals were slaughtered according to halal standard procedures. The left half carcasses were jointed into eight wholesale joints, and dissected into muscles, fat and bone, which were weighed separately. Sheep had greater (p<0.05) slaughter BW (22.29 kg vs 20.50 kg) and empty BW (20.17 kg vs 18.67 kg) than goats (p<0.05). Dressing percentages were lower (p<0.001) in sheep than goats when carcass weight was expressed as percentage of slaughter BW (42.31% and 47.15%) and empty BW (46.75% and 51.79%). Sheep carcasses had lower (p<0.001) proportion (66.18% vs 71.64%) of muscles and higher (p<0.001) proportion of fat (7.41% vs 3.44%) than goat carcasses. Sheep had proportionally lighter (p<0.001) shoulder (18.89% vs 22.68%) and heavier (p<0.05) proportion of chump (7.916% vs 6.76%) and main rib (8.12% vs 7.07%). Sheep had more (p<0.001) muscles in the leg (28.83% vs 27.08%) and main rib (7.62% vs 6.36%) than goats. Sheep had less (p<0.001) muscles (20.28% vs 23.56%) in shoulder joints when expressed as percentage of total muscle of carcasses. It is concluded that there are differences in sheep and goat both in terms of carcass and joint yields and composition. The present study also implies that there is need to consider setting different meat cuts and prices for these cuts when one takes into account the differences in muscle distribution within joints in sheep and goats

Carcass and meat quality characteristics of indigenous cattle in Tanzania

Paper to be presented during the 5th Research week and International Conference to be held on, –22nd – 24th September, 2010 at EGERTON UNIVERSITY, KENYA . * Corresponding Author: Mwilawa, A.J (PhD Student) ([email protected]) Tel +255-787-892240Seventy two Tanzania indigenous cattle (36 Boran steers; 2-3 years old; initial liveweight 225 kg and 36 Tanzania Short Horn Zebu (TSHZ); 3-4 years old; initial liveweight 117 kg) were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments to study the effects of breed, diet and ageing time on carcass and meat quality characteristics. Animals were fed three different diets: grazing alone (Diet 1: control), control + 50 % ad libitum concentrate intake (Diet 2) and ad libitum hay + ad libitum concentrate intake (Diet 3). The concentrate contained 126 g CP and 13 MJ ME per kg DM. The steers were fattened for 90 days, slaughtered, and carcass and meat quality assessed. Boran had heavier (P<0.05) empty body weight, carcass weight and greater rib area than TSHZ (242 vs. 192 kg; 132 vs. 108 kg and 56 vs. 47 cm2). Animals fed diet 3 had higher (P<0.05) dressing percentage, carcass fat thickness, conformation score and normal meat colour score (54%; 2 cm; 12; 2.9) followed by Diet 2 (51%; 0.9 cm; 9; 3.7 and lastly Diet 1 (47%; 0.6 cm; 7; 4.4). In addition, longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle from animals fed Diet 3 had the lowest (P<0.05) shear force (45 N) indicating very tender meat whereas LD from animals fed diet 1 had the highest value (60 N) indicating less tender meat. Increasing post-mortem storage time from 2 up to 20 days decreased (P<0.05) shear force by 65%. It is concluded that both Boran and TSHZ cattle obtained acceptable range of meat quality values and that tender meat can be produced from indigenous cattle through feedlot finishing and post-mortem storage at refrigerated temperature