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Hawkins JW, Komarek AM, Kihoro EM, Nicholson CF, Omore AO, Yesuf GU, Ericksen PJ, Schoneveld GC, Rufino MC. High-yield dairy cattle breeds improve farmer incomes, curtail greenhouse gas emissions and reduce dairy import dependency in Tanzania. NATURE FOOD 2022; 3:957-967. [PMID: 37118219 DOI: 10.1038/s43016-022-00633-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 04/30/2023]
Abstract
Tanzania's dairy sector is poorly developed, creating reliance on imports for processed, value-added dairy products and threatening food security, particularly when supply chains are disrupted due to market volatility or armed conflicts. The Tanzanian Dairy Development Roadmap is a domestic development initiative that aims to achieve dairy self-sufficiency by 2030. Here, we model different outcomes of the roadmap, finding that adoption of high-yield cattle breeds is essential for reducing dairy import dependency. Avoided land use change resulting from fewer, higher yielding dairy cattle would lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Dairy producers' average incomes could increase despite capital expenditure and land allocation required for the adoption of high-yield breeds. Our findings demonstrate the importance of bottom-up development policies for sustainable food system transformations, which also support food sovereignty, increase incomes for smallholder farmers and contribute towards Tanzania's commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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Affiliation(s)
- James W Hawkins
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
- Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Nairobi, Kenya.
| | - Adam M Komarek
- School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Esther M Kihoro
- International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Charles F Nicholson
- Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Amos O Omore
- International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Gabriel U Yesuf
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
- Department of Geography & Environmental Science, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Polly J Ericksen
- International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, Kenya
| | | | - Mariana C Rufino
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
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