For years, Joshua Makukula, a pastoralist in Tanzania’s Morogoro Region, dreamed of sending his children to a better school and building a brick house that wouldn’t collapse during heavy rains. But climate change was making life harder. With pastureland drying up and grazing space shrinking, feeding his 250 cattle had become a struggle and so had earning enough to support his family.

That changed when Nguru Hills, a local meat processing company, approached Joshua with a contract to supply cattle.

Nguru Hills had recently benefited from reforms championed by the Private Sector Desk at the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, with support from USAID’s Feed the Future Sera Bora (Better Policies) Project. These reforms reduced business barriers, such as nuisance fees, and streamlined the cattle trade, enabling meat exporters to expand and tap into international markets.

Thanks to this improved business climate, Nguru Hills secured contracts to export high-quality Tanzanian beef to regional markets, as well as to Qatar during the 2022 World Cup. To meet demand, they turned to local pastoralists, like Joshua.

Through this new partnership, Joshua gained access to a reliable buyer, veterinary extension services, and input credit. His monthly sales jumped from 100 to 250 cows. His herd grew from 250 to 4,500 cattle. And as international demand rose, so did prices from TZS 2,700 (USD 1.16) per kilo to TZS 3,500 (USD 1.50) during the World Cup season.

“This partnership changed everything for me,” Joshua says. “I finally built the house I had dreamed of, and my children are now in a good private school. I feel proud.”