Dar To Host SADC’s Poultry Industry Forum -

By Senior Reporter VALENTINE OFORO

TANZANIA has been selected to host this year’s Southern African Development Community (SADC)’s Poultry Industry Forum.

Shelved to convene from October 16 and 17 in Dar es Salaam’s famous Serena Hotel, the envisaged forum to be staged for the maiden time in Tanzania will create a vital podium for the poultry stakeholders within the SADC’s member states to delve on numerous areas pertaining to the needed development of the economic sector.

Briefing a press conference over the forum, the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Tanzania’s Ministry of Livestock and Fisherief, Prof. Dr. Riziki Silas Shemdoe said the forum will allow the participants to share experience as well as identifying strategic opportunities for the poultry industry within the countries.

Moreover, he said other discussions expected to be prioritized in the forum will incorporate efforts to unlock expanded poultry markets, and the sector’s contributions towards the relevant countries economic development.

“The gathering will play meaningful role to help attracting more youth, including women to venture into the sector so as to cheat poverty,” he insisted.

And he informed, the forum will be attended by a total of 300 participants from the SADC countries, including government officials at different levels, parent ministries, poultry experts, youth and women in the sector, development partners, and the stakeholders in the poultry value addition chain.

Prof Dr Shemdoe unveiled that the gathering will go in tandem with the special exhibition, christened ‘Tanzania Poultry Show’.

“The exhibition, to be staged from October 18 to 20 at the Mlimani City in Dar es Salaam, expecting to bring at least 2,000 stakeholders in the country’s poultry sector under the same roof,” he detailed.

Giving more details, he said the event will involve a total of 50 exhibitors of diverse chicken – related products from within and outside the country.

These, according to him will include chicken hatchers, owners of giant poultry farms, producers of chicken feeds, as well as developers of key poultry technologies.

The forum will see a series of events, such as handing over special awards to recognize contributions of youth and women in the sector within the SADC countries, as well as provision of parent stock chickens, according to the Don.