SHORTAGE OF KEY STAFF TROUBLING LIVESTOCK SECTOR

Doctor Erick Samwel demonstrates how insects of veterinary importance are identified during a press conference organised by the Livestock Training Agency (LITA) in Dar es Salaam yesterday.  PHOTO | SALIM SHAO  

Dar es Salaam. The livestock sector is grappling with an inadequate number of extension officers as the country has only 5000 while the requirement stands at 12,000, thereby exposing cattle to diseases, the Livestock Training Agency (Lita) says.

A 2009 report by  the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)  shows that about five million Tanzanian households, or close to 58 per cent of them, reported owning at least one kind of livestock, with the larger proportion of them  being in rural areas (3 out of 4 households) than in urban areas (one out of four).
However, many households cannot fully benefit from their livestock because most of them were exposed to diseases.

The report indicates that less than 30 per cent of owners had their livestock vaccinated over the previous 12 months.

Yesterday, Lita’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms Margaret Pallangyo, said: “The sector needs more extension officers to offer the much-needed services.”

On efforts Lita  was making to address the challenge, Ms Pallangyo said the agency would in due course enroll sponsoring its staff for pursuing courses at certificate and diploma levels.

When the agency  was established in 2012, the number of students enrolled in its colleges was only 750, but the number had increased to 2400.

She said the agency had also reduced dependence on government budget allocation by collecting more funds from its own sources.

“When we started, our budget was depending on government funds by 75 per cent, but currently, we are government-funded by only 25 per cent,” she said.

The agency’s  financial independence has improved following  as a result of increasing the engagement of experts  and running the colleges.

CREDIT: THE CITIZEN