Mruazi heifer breeding unit The main aim of this project is to establish a quality heifer and breeding bull farm to supply the Tanzanian dairy farmers with cows/bulls which produce a higher amount of milk per cow/offspring, but are also resistant to the regions climatic conditions. At present there is no existing heifer/breeding bull company in the country which can supply quality livestock to the dairy farmers. A by-product of the heifer breeding is milk and weaner bulls. The milk will be sold to the milk factory, the weaner bulls to the meat industry.The project partners would like to cross-breed the indigenous Zebu cow, the Pakistani Sahiwal and the Dutch Friesian Holstein in order to produce a more productive milking cow/breeding bull. This project will be the first initiative in Tanzania to breed quality live stock for milk production using the 3-way cross breed. Experience with this breed in Kenya and Australia shows that this breed produces about 25% more milk than the currently used Zebu/Friesian Holstein cross breed (2,300 versus 1,800 litres per lactation period).The new breeding farm will be established by 4 project partners: the Dutch registered applicant K.I. Samen, the local partner company Holland Dairies, the third partner the Tanzanian Tanga Dairies Cooperative Union (TDCU) and the fourth partner the Tanzanian company Katani Ltd.The project will be located in the Tanga region on part of the land of Katani Ltd.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)The new company will incorporate a CSR policy. All employees will have a pension scheme, health insurance, and working hours etc according to the Tanzanian labour laws. Minimum wages will be at least 20% above labour laws. For part of the staff the company will provide proper housing.Impact•    Employment and working conditionsThe project will directly employ 54 people from year 3 onwards. Two of those jobs can be considered high-level jobs, 4 are medium-level jobs and 48 can be considered basic-level jobs. Furthermore, many seasonal workers will be employed. Their number can be estimated at 40 to 100 per day. The salaries paid for the lowest paid workers are 120% of the minimum wages.•    Innovation / Transfer of knowledgeThis project will introduce the knowledge about breeding programmes (3-way crossing), herd management systems (computerised) and the knowledge about the use of sexed semen.Furthermore, knowledge will be transferred to the small-scale dairy farmers through training days, visits and informal contacts.•    Chain effectsThe following chain effects are expected:Beneficiaries               Kind of benefit                         Nature of benefiting party1) Rural Farmers	   Higher income through:	   Individuals	                           Heifers                                     (at the moment                                   Breeding bulls                          3,000 established                                   Breeding techniques               dairy farmers)2) Tanga Fresh Ltd     Better profit through                Company Ltd, partly                                   more supply of milk                 owned by cooperative3) TDCU                     Income through profit              Cooperative union,                                   sharing                                    shareholder in Tanga                                   Fresh Ltd and in the                new company4) Cattle feed and       Higher turnover                       Individuals    input suppliers 	•    EnvironmentThe joint venture will have to partly clear the area of thorn bushes in order to make grazing for the herd possible. The bigger trees will be left untouched. Further the joint venture will actively prevent soil erosion through riverside forest conservation, utilisation of environmentally friendly acaricides and peripheral tree planting. Further the joint venture will make use of insecticides from vegetable origin.Overgrazing is prevented through controlled rotational grazing using solar powered electric fencing.•    Position of womenFor specific farm duties preference will be given to female workers (management/staff functions, milking, calf rearing, artificial insemination, administrative duties). However, overall it is expected that the impact on the position of women will be neutral. To establish a heifer / breeding bull farm producing Zebu, Sahiwal, Friesian Holstein cross breeds on a 1,000 ha farm resulting in a mother herd of 500 animals after 3 years. The offspring will be sold to Tanzanian dairy farmers. The farms by-products will be milk and weaner bulls.