Morogoro — THE Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) plans to spend about 200m/- to train pastoralists in Tanga and Morogoro on how to add value on milk.

The three-year project which started last month aims to alleviate poverty among the pastoralists. This was said here over the weekend by the Director of Research at the university, Prof Jayro Matovelo when launching phase one of the training which is supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

He said that most pastoralists lacked expertise to produce quality milk which could earn them good business. "The milk produced must meet the required standards, short of which the pastoralists would still see no impact on their cattle", he said.

He said the training will focus on building capacity on the pastoralists on modern animal husbandry, storage, processing and transportation to the market. However, he said that the local producers are facing a challenge from imported milk.

"This is a challenge we should address", he said, adding that there has not been a good network between the local producers, processors and distributors. Prof Matovelo said that the project will also create awareness campaigns to pastoralists.

"We will involve the village and ward leaders to send the messages through", he said. On his part, the training coordinator, Dr Fredy Kilima said the project aims to create a reliable market for the pastoralists.

"There is a ready market out there if the pastoralists aim for quality", he said. A representative from Tanga Region, Mr Juma Nyange praised the university for the initiative which he said would help the poor pastoralists rewarded for their investment.