VetFarm customer Robert Gervas explains that when he used to call veterinarians, they would “come two days later, but by then, the cows would be in very bad shape.” VetFarm’s services came as a relief in 2021; they were much more reliable than other vets he’d worked with in the past. Robert has seen remarkable change on the farm and attributes this to how readily available treatments and feed are for his cows. Likewise, the project is improving its services for farmers like Loukia Chacha, who is known by her friends and neighbors as “Mama Ng’ombe” or “Mama Cattle.” Loukia has been in the dairy business for more than 30 years, she recounted as she fondly showed off one of her calves, Angel. It’s a Friesian cross-breed, renowned in the cow world for producing a substantial amount of milk. The calf was the product of an artificial insemination (AI) birth – courtesy of VetFarm – which is a way that smallholder farmers can successfully cross-breed their cows with breeds that are guaranteed to produce more milk. Competitor Baklina Mafwere, who owns another supply shop called Baklina Ltd., explains the connection between reliable services and the prize competition. “When I’m going to give the services … I was rewarded. This made us [suppliers]… move vigorously into the field, to see the farmers,” he said. “The [prize incentive] is a very big motivator to me as a proprietor, but at the same time [also] to the extension workers.”

Promising Trends

Motivated by AgResults’ prize competition, businesses like VetFarm and Baklina Ltd. have made critical shifts in their business models, invested in growth, and developed an intimate understanding of their customers’ needs. And they’re not the only ones. In total, these businesses delivered more than 900,000 input bundles to nearly 80,000 farmers in the coastal regions of Tanzania. These changes, catalyzed by the Pay-for-Results model, have the potential to strengthen the country’s dairy sector – benefiting both private sector suppliers and the farmers that depend on them.