Recent development of Tanzania feed industry through improvement of the feed analytical facility

Abstract

The quality and supply of conventional feed ingredients in Tanzania is expected to decrease due to climate change’s negative effect on crop, livestock and fish yields. In order to maintain a high quality and supply of feed, the feed industry may have to adapt by making frequent modifications to feed formulations and use alternative feed ingredients. This strategy requires the services of a reliable and trustworthy feed analytical facility. In efforts to regulate the feed industry, the government of Tanzania appointed the feed laboratory at Tanzania Veterinary Laboratory Agency to be the Government Analyst for livestock feeds. The capacity of this analytical facility was strengthened with support from the US Grains Council. Currently, the analytical facility has the capacity to do basic nutrient analysis and mineral analysis of feeds; it can also perform the Urease test to determine levels of anti-nutritional factors in Soya. The efficiency of service provision has improved; however, the capacity of the analytical facility needs to be strengthened further because it has no equipment for determining levels of mycotoxin in feeds and has to depend on outsourcing for feed safety analysis. Climate change conditions are expected to increase the incidence of mycotoxin contamination of feeds. Although there has been an increase in demand for the services of the analytical facility, more can be done to increase awareness on available services and the importance of feed analysis to the production of quality feeds.