A happy chicken, a happy meal: Towards a safe and sustainable poultry sector in Tanzania

Tanzania is making significant strides towards a sustainable poultry sector with the launch of the Poultry Signal Book and the officiation of the Poultry Working Group. The two were presented during the seminar on poultry health organized by the Embassy of the Kingdoms of the Netherlands in Dar es Salaam in collaboration with Royal GD Academy in the Netherlands.

The seminar also saw the officiation of the Poultry Working Group, which consists of representatives from Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT), Poultry Association of Tanzania (PAT), Livestock Training Agency (LITA), Tanzania Livestock Research Institute (TALIRI), Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries and The Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, nature and food quality. The working group aim to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing among the stakeholders in the poultry sector and to develop strategies for sustainable poultry farming in Tanzania.

The seminar was held in Dar es Salaam on 11 November 2022 in the attendance of representatives from farmers associations, feed manufacturers, breeders, agrovets, extension officers, research, academia, regulation bodies and the public sector to discuss and deliberate on pathways for a future proof safe (and tasty!) poultry industry.

One of the highlights of the seminar was a presentation by Dr. Robert Jan Molenaar, a veterinarian and poultry pathologist from the Royal GD academy, who shared valuable insights on poultry health. The expert provided practical advice on how to prevent and control diseases in poultry, emphasizing the importance of early disease detection and effective treatment. He further encouraged a “business-UNusual” approach on how to raise a healthy chicken, his key message being to stop, think and carefully observe chicken behavior and act immediately when there are unusual signals.

It takes skills to read the signals, and there are three basic questions a poultry keeper must keep on asking;

What am I observing?
Why is this happening?
What should I do?

“No one needs to be sick, which is also the case for the birds. Therefore it is important to invest in preventive measures. A healthily start is a healthy finish” - Dr. Jan Molenaar

A happy chicken, a happy meal

Moderated by Mr. Geoffrey Kirenga CEO of SAGCOT Center Ltd, it was evident during the seminar discussion that not all poultry farmers in Tanzania maximize the full potential of their birds. This applies equally to laying hen farmers and broiler farmers. For a satisfactory performance during the production period for example the house must be equipped and managed correctly and efficiently. However, most practitioners are NOT doing this therefore limits implementation of preventive measures and in return farmers resort on the use of curative measures which is costly and sometimes injudicious used.

The implementation of biosecurity and health management practices across the entire poultry industry also has lots of gaps and challenges from the inputs, hatcheries, veterinary services and extension services to processing and consumption, some of which being identified by the NL commissioned study on compliance to standard operating procedure (SOPs) on raising healthily chicken.

Going forward, the seminar encouraged a structured way on collecting issues for the sector and coordination on finding solutions.

Launch of Poultry Signal Book and Officiation of the Poultry Working Group

Poultry Health Seminar 2 - launch of poultry signal group

The launch of the very first Poultry Signals Book - Africa Edition was another key milestone during the seminar. The book, which is published by Roodbont and which is supported by the Netherlands Government, provides comprehensive information on how to go about raising healthily chicken. The book is a valuable resource for poultry farmers, extension workers, veterinarians and other stakeholders in the poultry sector providing practical information on various aspects of poultry health, including the signs and symptoms of diseases, their causes and prevention, and the appropriate measures to be taken in case of an outbreak. The book is user-friendly with clear illustrations and easy-to-understand language.

Poultry Health Seminar 3 - launch poultry signal group picture

Tanzania and the Netherlands Strong Partners in Sustainable Poultry

Sharing remarks during the seminar H.E Ambassador Wiebe encouraged poultry stakeholders to seek long-term solutions through innovation and highly efficient production, in combination with working in partnerships with companies, knowledge institutes and government organizations.

On the other hand, Deputy Minister of Livestock Hon. Abdallah Ulega emphasized on the potential and investment opportunities within Tanzania poultry sector.

Despite the vast potential, poultry health remains to be a major challenge. He further encouraged and emphasized on the need to improve productivity and safeguard public health through compliance on good poultry management practices. He also encouraged poultry stakeholders to come up with an evidence based approach on creating public awareness on the safety of poultry products especially broiler meat to dispel public misconception on consuming poultry products.

Poultry Health Seminar - Poultry Working Group partners

Concluding his remarks Hon. Ulega extended appreciation on the long bilateral relation relationship between Tanzania and Netherlands, especially on the knowledge exchange in the livestock sector. He invited more investments from the Netherlands and encourage distribution of the poultry signal book developed by the Netherlands to extension officers in all district councils where poultry is the main economic stay.

More information

For more information about the poultry signal book and how to order contact directly Roodbont via Poultry Signals African Edition (9789087403492) | Roodbont Publishers

Useful links

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