Online Reporter
Theseus Mauruki Shambare, Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE is stepping up genetic improvement and artificial insemination (AI) programmes as part of a broader strategy to close its annual milk production gap and achieve self-sufficiency.
This comes as authorities are confident improved productivity per animal could push output beyond the current 120 million litres towards a 150 million litre target.
Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Permanent Secretary Professor Obert Jiri said the country’s dairy sector remained one of the key value chains under agriculture-led industrialisation, with strong potential to meet national demand if ongoing productivity and herd expansion programmes are sustained.
He said the current output of about 120 million litres remained below the estimated annual requirement of 150 million litres, but stressed that the gap could be closed through structured interventions across the production system.
“So far we have been producing around 120 million litres, which shows that it is possible for us to develop these value chains,” said Prof Jiri.
He said expanding the national dairy herd from about 60 000 cows to between 80 000 and 100 000, alongside productivity improvements, remained central to achieving self-sufficiency in the medium term.
Livestock and Fisheries Production director Mr Milton Makumbe, however, said increasing herd numbers alone would not be sufficient without significant gains in genetic performance and per-cow productivity.
Mr Makumbe said Zimbabwe currently had about 70 584 dairy cattle, with only around 35 000 milking at any given time, and productivity levels ranging from eight litres per cow per day in smallholder systems to about 17 litres in more commercial operations.
“At around 35 000 milking cows, if an average of 12 litres per cow per day is achieved, an annual national raw milk output of 153 million litres is achievable,” said Mr Makumbe.
He said this made genetic improvement and breeding efficiency critical to closing the production gap.
The Government, working with private sector partners, is scaling up artificial insemination programmes aimed at upgrading indigenous and crossbred herds through the use of high-quality semen from breeds such as Holstein, Jersey and Ayrshire.
Programmes including Transforming Zimbabwe’s Dairy Value Chain (TranZDVC), iMoved and Dairy Revitalisation Programme (DRP) are expanding access to improved genetics, particularly among smallholder farmers who hold the majority of the national herd.
Mr Makumbe said the Government had also intensified training of village and ward-level inseminators to improve access to AI services, while promoting sexed semen technologies to accelerate herd expansion through increased heifer production.
Zimbabwe is also developing a Dairy Genetic Evaluation Programme to support data-driven breeding decisions based on traits such as fertility, milk yield and butterfat content, in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers.
The programme will generate estimated breeding values to guide the distribution of superior genetics to farmers, improving long-term herd performance.
Mr Makumbe said digital herd management systems, including the AIMS database and TranZDVC platforms, were also improving record keeping, monitoring lactation cycles and strengthening breeding decisions.
He, however, said challenges such as feed shortages, climate variability, infrastructure gaps and limited access to affordable finance continued to constrain productivity growth.
“Despite these constraints, coordinated investment in genetics, nutrition, herd management and data systems could enable Zimbabwe to achieve the 150 million litre target within three to five years, strengthening dairy’s role in agriculture-led industrialisation and rural economic development,” he said.
