Published: 11 December 2013

RAW milk production in Zimbabwe increased slightly to 4,58 million litres in October from 4,57 million the previous month, figures released by the Dairy Services Department in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development show.

The increase is spurred by knowledge and experience accrued by new dairy farmers following dairy programmes instituted by milk processing companies.

Zimbabwe's 2013 milk output is expected to reach 70 million litres from last year's 55 929,694, although the figure still falls far short of the national demand of 120 million litres per annum.

Milk production plummeted over the decade ending 2009 to one million litres per month due to high production costs sparked by hyperinflationary conditions that prevailed in the country then.

Milk production continued to increase since the adoption of multiple foreign currencies in 2009 with the country producing close to 66 million litres last year.

Zimbabwe Farmers' Union executive director Mr Paul Zakariya believes that Southern Africa countries have the potential to produce adequate milk for own consumption.

"South Africa is currently dominating the region in terms of milk production. Most milk products consumed in SADC are coming from South Africa.

"We are failing as a region outside South Africa," Mr Zakariya said.

"We need to take stock of where we are as a region and put in place relevant policies that will guide us to self reliance in terms of milk.

"Once we do that, we are bound to produce more for ourselves. Relevant policies will also attract investment in the sector."

Mr Zakariya said there was also need to capacitate smallholder producers.

"When people come together they are bound to do better. So there is also need to form co-operatives from production, transportation and marketing of raw milk to realise meaningful retains.

"Co-operatives are not a new phenomenon in Southern Africa.

"What need to be done is to revive them and go back to the old days when we used to have productive diary association selling to manufacturers daily," he said.

Presently milk production in the Common Market for East and Southern Africa and East African Community is estimated at only 12 million metric tonnes against a demand of 14 million metric tonnes per annum.
- herald

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