Urban Livestock Farming In Tanzania: Causes, Effects and Future Prospects

Abstract

Urban livestock farming in Tanzania has seen a tremendous rise since the late seventies. Several factors acting singly or concurrently led to the trend we are observing today. The major driving forces are social­ economic, cultural and to some degree political in nature. It is commonly agreed that there are some positive and negative effects of urban livestock farming. This paper intends to give a fair discussion and analysis of the issues behind the -rapid growth of urban livestock farming (ULF) with emphasis on dairy as the most practised type of ULF. As matters stand now, urban livestock farming will continue to play a major role in the provision of the greatly needed animal products by the ever-increasing urban population. It will be self­cheating to think that we can abolish ULF by the present laws and bylaws that are hard if not impossible to implement. Therefore, there is a need of a change in attitude by the responsible authorities to recognise ULF as a fact of life and find ways of minimising the negative effects through positive engagement with all stake-holders