Talkmore Gandiwa
HARARE – The Ministry of Agriculture is set to source 200 in-calf heifers in a bid to increase genetics and milk production in the country just after the country recorded an upward trend in milk production in the first five months of the year.
In an interview, Dairy Processors Association of Zimbabwe (DPAZ) secretary general, Tendayi Marecha, said the aim to reach the 110 million litres targeted by the government and other development partners involves 1 500 dairy farmers that need to increase the country’s milk production after a slump of more than two decades.
“With the EU funding, the Zimbabwean government is also working on improving its national dairy livestock genetics and has to source 200 in-calf heifers from the Eastern Cape in South Africa,” said
Adding on said the initiative is anticipated to record a steady milk production growth following the distribution to selected small-scale dairy farmers through a heifer matching facility.
According to the latest statistics from the Zimbabwe association of dairy farmers, milk production for the first five months of the year to May, has shown growth despite the El Nino phenomenon and high feed cost.
The country recorded year-on-year milk production growth by 20.6% to 45.8 million litres from the 38 million litres recorded in the same period last year. While recording a significant growth to 9.4 million litres from 9 million litres recorded in the previous month.
Milk intake by processors has also increased to 8.7 million litres from 7.2 million litres recorded in the same month in the prior year.
The government, with the financial support from the European Union and funded under the Zimbabwe Agricultural Growth Programme (ZAGP) and the Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers, was assisting small-holder dairy farmers with standard packages comprising maize seed, fertilisers and chemicals for them to produce silage for their farm feed formulations.
“The challenges in the dairy sub-sector, where rising feed prices contrasted with stagnant milk prices, created a viability gap that needed addressing. The support provided significantly narrowed this gap and fostered expansion within the dairy production sub-sector,” said Marecha.
Download May Production Figures: Milk production Figures Jan-May 2024
