malvernmugadzikwa
Business Reporter
Milk production in Zimbabwe increased by 6 percent in the first half of 2023, according to latest data from the dairy services department in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.
The official data shows that milk output stood at 45,9 million litres during the period under review, up from 43,3 million litres in the comparable period.
Milk intake by processors was up by 7,8 percent in the first half of 2023 to 42 million litres from 38.97 million litres.
Retail milk production, however, declined by 13,6 percent from 4,4 million litres to 3,8 million litres in the same period last year. In June 2023, milk production increased by 7,35 percent to 7,9 million litres from 7,4 million litres during the same month last year. It was 7,8 million litres in May. Earlier in the year, Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Dr John Basera told The Sunday Mail that imports of milk powder had declined by 17 percent in 2022, to 7,4 million kg from 8,9 million kg.
He ascribed the increased production to appropriate interventions made by Government, the private sector and development partners.
“All these interventions and touch points are contained in the Livestock Recovery and Growth Plan, with deliberate programmes which focused on increasing the national dairy herd from 19 000 in 2021 to 29 000 in 2022. This included the State’s dairy heifer programme funded through the private sector,” he said.
The Zimbabwean dairy industry has witnessed a significant increase in milk production from less than 37 million litres in 2009 to 96 million litres in 2022.
“Current demand for milk stands at 130 million litres, and there is a national capacity for processing 400 million litres per annum. The Government has focused on the need for an inclusive and creatively organised dairy value chain to optimise stakeholder linkages and improve information flow and equity,” said Mr Addmore Waniwa, an official in the Ministry of Agriculture’s dairy services department.
The Transforming Zimbabwe’s Dairy Value Chain for the Future (TranZDVC) project is aimed at addressing the root causes of under-performance in the Dairy Value Chain (DVC) in Zimbabwe by strengthening the linkages between production, processing and financing.
In February 2020, TranZDVC outsourced 200 in-calf heifers from Eastern Cape in South African to help boost and improve Zimbabwe’s livestock genetics.
The first batch of 105 in-calf heifers arrived in Zimbabwe in April 2020 and the Integrators who include DenDairy, Nestle Zimbabwe and ProDairy were responsible for the distribution of the animals to selected small-scale dairy farmers through a heifer matching facility.
Dairy producers are also supported under the Command Silage Programme facilitated by the Agricultural Finance Corporation and CBZ Bank.
The programme supports more than 1 500 smallholder dairy farmers with a standard input package comprising maize seed, basal fertiliser, and top-dressing fertiliser for one hectare of silage.
“Silage is a highly nutritious and affordable feed option which the Government is promoting under the ‘own farm feed formulation’ programme that started in 2021,” Mr Waniwa added.
AFC supported the establishment of Mafuro Safari large scale dairy farm in Marondera last year, which has also boosted milk production in the country.
The enterprise operates on a 200-hectare farm where a composite facility of US$1 million was put together to purchase heifers for milk production, as well as working capital for the running of the dairy farm.
Online Reporter