aistand south~ern afrkca - (PDF, 101 mb) - USAID

Flguis la.Losadon of Singida and Dodoma regions Figure lb. Skda and Dodoma regions In more
in Tarzarda. detAL
97%and of all beef and 87% of all milk pre luced
in thc country qre from the indigenous herd
(NARM Tak Force, 1991).
The major constraints to cattle productivity
in the traditional sector of Tanzania, especially
in.the semi-arid areas such as sdmi-arid central
Tanzania, inchude poor animal nutrition, animal
diseases, water shortage and the low genetic
potential of the indigenous cattle (LPRI, 1986;
1991).
Previous research within the
countrycomposite
countryAfrican
Deliberate research efforts to improve livestock
productivity in the country were initiated way
back in 1905 during the German clonial
administration (LPRI, 1983). The research
emphasis during the early years of the century
was mainly to combat the incidences of cattle
disease, a threat to the livestock industry. Cattle
diseases including rinderpest, Foot and Mouth
disease (FM~h Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia
(CBPP) and trypanosomiasis were
killing thousands of cattle especially in the
southern part of the country (LPRI. 1983).
The research focus at that time dwelt on the
development of vaccines; over 50,000 doses of
ant-rndrpstserumwere produced every year.
aowtirere wr te esac adr
takings such as pasture improvement and
animal husbandry were being carried out
on-static a and on-farm in selected villages in
limited numbers (LPRI, 1983).
Work on breeding to improve the production
potential of the TSZ was initiated in the early
1920s. The indigenous TSZ cattle, acquired from
!.,inga, Rungwe, Singida and Maasailand formed
the foundation breeding stock and were mated