Baba anataka kufuga kuku zaidi mwaka huu.

Here is a word-by-word breakdown:

• Baba = father / dad
• anataka = he wants
• kufuga = to raise / to keep / to rear (usually animals)
• kuku = chicken / chickens
• zaidi = more
• mwaka = year
• huu = this

So the structure is basically:

Father + he wants + to raise + more chickens + this year

Swahili often combines several pieces into a single verb word.

anataka can be divided like this:

• a- = he / she
• -na- = present tense marker
• -taka = verb root meaning want

So:

• a-na-taka = he/she wants

This is very normal in Swahili. Subject and tense are usually built into the verb.

After -taka (to want), Swahili usually uses the infinitive form of the next verb.

• ku- = infinitive marker, like English to
• -fuga = raise / keep animals

So:

• anataka kufuga = he wants to raise

This works much like English want to + verb, except Swahili does not use a separate word like English to. The ku- is attached directly to the verb.

Kufuga is commonly used for keeping, rearing, breeding, or raising animals.

It is a good verb for animals such as:

• kuku = chickens
• mbuzi = goats
• ng’ombe = cattle/cows

So in this sentence, kufuga kuku means to raise/keep chickens.

It would not usually be the normal verb for raising a child or growing a plant.

Some Swahili nouns have the same form in singular and plural, and kuku is one of them.

So:

• kuku can mean a chicken
• kuku can also mean chickens

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

In this sentence, because of zaidi (more), the meaning is naturally more chickens.

Zaidi means more.

In this sentence, it most naturally goes with kuku, so:

• kuku zaidi = more chickens

So the idea is that father wants to raise a larger number of chickens this year.

Swahili often places zaidi after the noun it relates to, unlike English, where more usually comes before the noun.

In theory, zaidi can sometimes have a broader sense like more / more than before, but in this sentence the most natural reading is:

• kuku zaidi = more chickens

If you wanted to make it clearer that the number of chickens is increasing, you could also say something like:

• Baba anataka kufuga kuku wengi zaidi mwaka huu = Father wants to raise even more chickens this year

But the original sentence already strongly suggests more chickens, not do chicken-raising more often.

In Swahili, demonstratives such as this often come after the noun.

So:

• mwaka huu = this year
• literally: year this

This is a very common pattern:

• mtu huyu = this person
• kitabu hiki = this book
• mwaka huu = this year

So although it feels reversed compared with English, it is normal Swahili word order.

Swahili demonstratives agree with the noun class of the noun they describe.

Mwaka belongs to the m-/mi- noun class, so the correct demonstrative for this here is huu.

That is why you get:

• mwaka huu = this year

You cannot just use one single word for this with every noun. The form changes depending on the noun class.

Swahili does not usually have articles like English a/an and the.

So:

• Baba can mean father, the father, or dad, depending on context
• kuku can mean a chicken, the chicken, or chickens

The exact meaning comes from the context rather than from an article.

By itself, Baba means father / dad.

Depending on context, it can refer to:

• father in a general sense
• the father
• my father / his father / our father, if the context already makes that clear

If you want to be explicit, Swahili can add possession:

• baba yangu = my father
• baba yake = his/her father

In your sentence, Baba most naturally reads as Dad/Father.

Yes, that is a very good way to understand it.

The structure is:

• Baba = subject
• anataka = main verb
• kufuga = infinitive complement
• kuku zaidi = object phrase
• mwaka huu = time expression

So the pattern is:

Subject + wants + to do something + object + time

That will help you understand many similar Swahili sentences.

You would say:

Baba hataki kufuga kuku zaidi mwaka huu.

Breakdown:

• ha- = negative
• -taki = want in the negative form

So:

• anataka = he wants
• hataki = he does not want

You change the tense marker inside the verb.

Examples:

• Baba alitaka kufuga kuku zaidi mwaka huu. = Father wanted to raise more chickens this year.
• Baba atataka kufuga kuku zaidi mwaka huu. = Father will want to raise more chickens this year.

Breakdown:

• a-li-taka = he wanted
• a-ta-taka = he will want

So Swahili tense is usually built right into the verb word.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• Baba = BAH-bah
• anataka = ah-nah-TAH-kah
• kufuga = koo-FOO-gah
• kuku = KOO-koo
• zaidi = zah-EE-dee
• mwaka = MWAH-kah
• huu = HOO-oo

Swahili pronunciation is fairly regular, and most letters are pronounced clearly. Also, stress often falls near the second-to-last syllable.