Impact Of The Second World War On Cattle -Marketing In Sukumaland, Tanganyika

Abstract

This paper has as its object to initiate a discussion on the contribution of Tanganyika cattle owners to the war efforts. And Sukumaland, which is the focal area for this paper, is a natural choice for starting such a discussion .Animal and crop husbandry have been important economic activities in Sukumaland for at least the past century. By the time war broke out in 1939 Sukumaland was the leading livestock-rearing region of Tanganyika. The Sukuma, who by this time,numbered about 569 000, were keeping about 1,808,20 sheep and 900,000. goats. The cattle population in this region constituted more than one quarter of the territorial herd. Before discussing the impact of the war we included a brief discussion of' the cattle trade in Sukumaland during the inter-war period. Such a discussion is necessary as it helps to detect the changes that accompanied the war.