By Rogia Saidath
In Tanzania, as in many African countries, poultry farming is an integral part of the rural economy as a source of income and nutrition.
Over the years, Tanzanian poultry farming has had significant improvements as reflected in part by the emergence of large and small-scale commercial farms and systems. Exotic poultry breeds were introduced in 1937, including broilers used in commercial farming, with huge potential in terms of short production cycle, low capital investment, fast yield and high quality-protein production.
Although it holds great potential, the modern poultry sub-sector faces substantial challenges such as high disease prevalence, poor handling practices, inadequate use and quality of medicines and vaccines, poor housing and sanitation conditions and inadequate extension services.
As a PhD researcher in biosecurity practices in poultry farming, I have conducted research assessing the levels of adoption of biosecurity practices on broiler farms in Tanzania’s Coast Region and gained useful insights in this sub-sector.
Biosecurity is a set of preventive management practices designed to exclude or reduce the risks of transmission and spread of diseases to animals, humans, or a disease-free area. Given the high susceptibility of broilers to diseases, and thus high mortality, veterinary costs, and low quality of finished products, it is, therefore, necessary to adopt such practices to minimise incidences of diseases.
The main conclusions from the assessment of broiler farms in Coast can be summarised as lack of training and limited understanding for most of the farmers. On the other hand, potential obstacles to the implementation of biosecurity practices on broiler farms in the region included lack of financial resources, negligence by employee or family members in charge of the broiler farm, and limited knowledge of biosecurity practices on a farm.
Broiler farms in the region have adopted some biosecurity practices ranging from sourcing day-old chicks from local hatcheries, vaccinating animals, building structures with brick walls and netting.
However, broiler farms were also found to routinely neglect a number of important biosecurity practices including accumulating deep litter for several weeks, rearing more than one flock of broilers of different ages in the same premises and poorly controlled traffic around and within the farm.
The findings from this study could have an indirect impact on broiler production performance. There are no specific laws and regulations on biosecurity in Tanzania though global institutions such as the FAO have established guidelines for the application of biosecurity in the poultry sector.
The responsibility of applying biosecurity on poultry farms in Tanzania, lies with two main actors: (i) the Tanzanian government (through the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, the Ministry of Higher Education and the veterinary and extension officers), and (ii) the farmers/poultry breeders. It will therefore be necessary for the government to revise Tanzania’s national poultry policy to adapt it to the current challenges facing the poultry sector.
The Tanzanian government needs to undertake a number of actions including making an inventory of existing veterinary and extension agents by region, as well as commercial chicken farmers and, if possible, all other players in the poultry sector value chain, to ensure that no player is overlooked during training or feedback.
As for the farmers themselves, they require increased awareness of the potential dangers and importance of biosecurity on their farms by attending training courses among other interventions.
The results of my research can serve as a basis for other developing African countries, which, depending on their farming context, geographical location, and the constraints of their poultry sector, can adapt the recommendations to promote the application of biosecurity practices on broiler farms and improve trade relations in the poultry sector.
Rogia Saidath is a PhD student from Benin at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Tanzania. She is 2021 Mawazo Fellow and a Fellow of the RSIF-PASET Programme
Share this news
This Year's Most Read News Stories
High Court rejects Transworld’s application
The High Court in Dar es Salaam has struck out an application in which Transworld Aviation, a ground handler at the Abeid Aman Karume International Airport (AAKIA) was seeking permission to sue the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA).Continue Reading
New lawsuit as Zanzibar airport controversy continues
Another company joins the list as they file a petition challenging the exclusive rights granted to Dnata by Zanzibar Airports Authority.Continue Reading
Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak
Tanzania today declared the end of Marburg virus disease outbreak after recording no new cases over 42 days since the death of the last confirmed case on 28 January 2025.
The outbreak, in which two confirmed and eight probable cases were recorded (all deceased), was the second the country has experienced. Both this outbreak, which was declared on 20 January 2025, and the one in 2023 occurred in the north-eastern Kagera region.
In response to the latest outbreak, Tanzania’s health authorities set up coordination and response systems, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, at the national and regional levels and reinforced control measures to swiftly detect cases, enhance clinical care, infection prevention as well as strengthen collaboration with communities to raise awareness and help curb further spread of the virus.
Growing expertise in public health emergency response in the African region has been crucial in mounting effective outbreak control measures. Drawing on experience from the response to the 2023 Marburg virus disease outbreak, WHO worked closely with Tanzanian health authorities to rapidly scale up key measures such as disease surveillance and trained more than 1000 frontline health workers in contact tracing, clinical care and public health risk communication. The Organization also delivered over five tonnes of essential medical supplies and equipment.
“The dedication of frontline health workers and the efforts of the national authorities and our partners have paid off,” said Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses, WHO Representative in Tanzania. “While the outbreak has been declared over, we remain vigilant to respond swiftly if any cases are detected and are supporting ongoing efforts to provide psychosocial care to families affected by the outbreak.”
Building on the momentum during the acute phase of the outbreak response, measures have been put in place to reinforce the capacity of local health facilities to respond to potential future outbreaks. WHO and partners are procuring additional laboratory supplies and other equipment for disease detection and surveillance and other critical services.
Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes haemorrhagic fever. It belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly. Patients present with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. They may develop severe haemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.
In the African region, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
Source: allafrica.com
