Boran cattle genetics breed success in Tanzania

I’ve had a wonderful weekend visit with Naweed and Nura Mulla, and their son Yabby, near Ubena Zomozi village, Chalinze - learning all about their sisal production and Boran cattle herd.
Naweed returned to the family farm nine years ago, after completing his studies in South Africa, for school, then pursuing economics in London, and has applied many of his learnings to the business.
One of the first things he did on his return to the farm was invest in cattle and over the past few years he has been building up his herd to around 2000 head, whilst continuously investing in top genetics.
Three years ago, he formed the Tanzanian Commercial Cattle Society, of which he is the chairman, and its membership currently accounts for 80% of all commercial farmers in the country.
 Naweed has the largest herd of Boran cattle in Tanzania, with most farmers in the country having small East African Shorthorn Zebu (EASZ), the indigenous cattle of the region. He told me there is little to no focus on genetics or improving efficiency by most farmers, with the majority of cattle slaughtered at around four years old or older.
Since investing in good genetics in his own herd, Naweed has been able to reduce average slaughter age to around three years old, selling cattle at 340kg deadweight. He told me there is no demand in Tanzania for meat to be hung for any length of time, all demand is for fresh meat. This is mostly due to the lack of refrigeration facilities and issues around blackouts, so most people are suspicious if they hear meat has been hung for anytime at all.

Animal Welfare

As we went for a tour around his cattle - which included meeting a buyer, who had come to select some new bulls - we discussed his unique approach to animal welfare. No staff are allowed to use sticks on the cattle, which I’m told is otherwise common practice here in Tanzania. Bull calves which are destined for fattening are castrated within their first week, because he doesn’t agree with the pushing method of castration, which is typically carried out at around eight months old and can result in stress and stunting of development.
Naweed wants to create a stress-free environment, so as not to affect the growth of his cattle, which has resulted in extremely placid and friendly livestock.
​
Biosecurity Protocols

There are huge issues around disease in Tanzania, particularly foot and mouth disease and lumpy skin disease. It can be extremely difficult to enforce strict biosecurity measures due to the nomadic pastoral practices of surrounding Maasai tribes, who will often bring their cattle on to his land. To address this, strict security protocols take place overnight to stop cattle coming into contact with his and any animals which are bought into the herd are quarantined before joining. Naweed vaccinates for foot and mouth disease twice year and cattle are dosed five times annually, due to pressure from tick borne diseases which are mostly caried by wild buffalo populations.
 
Since enforcing these protocols, Naweed’s farm has now been identified by the Tanzanian Government to be one of three certified farms to explore selling meat into the export market, to help find a higher value market elsewhere. Currently importers are avoiding Tanzanian meat due to disease concerns, but this new programme should hopefully encourage more investment in the export market, to develop Tanzania’s meat offering.