According to IPPMedia.com, speaking in Dar es Salaam at the weekend Dr Mathayo said that the ministry will carry out strong inspections in hotels, restaurants and supermarkets to arrest traders who import chicken and duck to the country.

“I have ordered my team to conduct inspections on imported poultry in supermarkets, hotels and restaurants so as to take strong measures against those who contravene the law,” he said.

He pointed out that the purpose of prohibiting chicken imports is to protect the domestic market due to the fact that local poultry farmers do not get subsidies contrary to their counterparts in developed countries.

However, a Dar es Salaam poultry farmer, Stephano Masengo has urged the government to help them get more poultry markets.

He said that poultry farmers do not have markets for their chicken which makes some of them to shift to other businesses.

“The government has to be cautious on the poultry sub-sector because it is one of the industries that assists many people to alleviate poverty. The government has to strongly control importation of poultry as well as warn those who contravene the law on importation of birds,” he said.

Masengo said: “Over the last three years the government banned importation of poultry after the outbreak of bird flu in the world’s leading poultry farming countries. We are wondering why the government now backs the importation.”

Another poultry farmer Gaudensia Sindhabaha said their biggest challenge on poultry sub sector is the importation of birds through Bagamoyo, Zanzibar and other ports along the Indian Ocean, making the farmers fail to get permanent markets.

“Many of the poultry farmers are put to despair and find themselves unable to repay the loans borrowed from financial institutions, this is a big challenge for us and the government has to take immediate measures to ensure that this problem is solved,” she said.