There is a sigh of relief in the Zimbabwean agricultural sector as it recently reported a rise in raw milk production.
According to media reports in the Southern African country, raw milk production rose from 79,6 million litres in 2021 to 91,6 million litres in 2022, a rise of 14,3%.
Zimbabwe’s Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary, Dr. John Basera said the country is making strides towards self-sufficiency in raw milk production.
Speaking to The Sunday Mail, Basera said that imports of milk powder had declined by 17% over this period, dropping from 8,9 million kilograms to 7,4 million kilograms.
The publication reports that he ascribed the increased production to appropriate interventions made by the Zimbabwean 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.
According to the Transforming Zimbabwe’s Dairy Value Chain for the Future (TranZDVC) initiative’s website per Farmers Weekly, Zimbabwe imported 200 in-calf heifers from the Eastern Cape in South Africa in February 2020 to improve the genetic base of dairy cattle.
This also formed part of the TranZDVC’s drive towards increased productivity, production, and profitability.
The imported cows had since been distributed to various regions throughout the country and local dairy producers were also supported under the Command Silage Programme, facilitated by the Agricultural Finance Corporation and CBZ Bank.
The initiative was modelled on the National Enhanced Agriculture Productivity Scheme, formerly known as the Command Agriculture programme.
“Programmes to upscale milk production and productivity per cow include the presidential silage programme supporting 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,” added the secretary.
“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.”