The Sunday News
PLAYERS in the dairy industry are optimistic that the country will attain its target of producing 200 million litres of milk in a year by 2020.
Zimbabwe Dairy Industry Trust (ZDIT) vice-chairperson Mrs Tendayi Marecha said the country’s milk volumes continued to increase owing to various initiatives being implemented by Government and players in the dairy industry.
Mrs Marecha said this during the Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers’ annual general meeting held in Bulawayo on Wednesday.
The country has set a target of producing 200 million litres of milk by 2020, although dairy farmers are producing 55 million litres per annum from a herd of 28 000 milk-producing cows at the moment.
The Midlands Province is the largest producer accounting for 24 percent of the country’s total milk volumes.
Manicaland contributes 17 percent while Mashonaland Central, West and Masvingo provinces have a combined output of 49 percent with Matabeleland North and South provinces producing 10 percent.
At its peak in the 1990s the dairy sector had a herd of 122 000 cows and produced about 250 million litres of milk per year.
“It’s very easy to achieve (target) because we have a revitalisation proposal and we have a growth projection and I think if we stick to our plans and get all the necessary support we will get there. Normally in a dairy production cycle it only needs two years for a farmer to be back to full capacity.
“If we manage to help the large-scale farmers to grow to their maximum potential and have other strategies for them to manage their enterprises so that on their farms what remains is to be very productive, we can produce more milk from these plans,” Mrs Marecha said.
ZDIT has set sights at setting up a calves rearing and breeding centres in Kwekwe and another one in Chipinge as a way of averting importing heifers and cows from neighbouring South Africa.
Government is set to import high milk yielding cows from South Africa under its Dairy Resuscitation Fund and the first batch of the animals is expected in the country by September.
“We have a proposal of having calf rearing centres and breeding centres. It doesn’t make a lot of sense for us to continue going to South Africa to look for heifers. We want to produce our own heifers because we have people who can breed.
“People are not breeding because of the small farm sizes. So we are saying breed and we buy those heifers and bring them to one farm and in that farm we will allow those heifers to grow for the two years that they are not productive,” Mrs Marecha said.
The centres would be manned by experts from the Department of Veterinary Services and Department of Livestock Production and Development.
Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers outgoing chairman, Mr Craig Follwell said in support of the Dairy Revitalisation Strategy, the association was committed to expanding the country’s herd size culminating in increased production.
“Processors continue to play a pivotal role in supporting our farmers with heifer schemes and importation of animals to contribute to the uplifting of our national herd. Plans are under way to ensure that more heifers and cows are made available,” he said.
Mr Follwell said the association was largely anticipating a percentage increase of milk production enhanced at a greater rate.
“I am proud of the Zimbabwean dairy farmers, both large and small, for their ability and hard work in stepping up to the challenge in taking back our market.
“All of us play a very pivotal role in this. We have seen a slow but constant increase in milk volumes and I believe within the next couple of years we will supply our country with the raw milk and products our people require,” Mr Follwell said.
