Zimbabwe – Zimbabwean dairy sector has hit a purple patch recording a 14% growth in dairy production with milk volumes rising to 91.4 million litres in 2022 from 79. 6 million litres in 2021.
A report presented during quarterly meeting of stakeholders in the dairy value chain (DVC) linked this tremendous growth to a US$20 million investment into the sector by producers, processors and development partners.
According to Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers (ZADF) Economist Mrs Antonette Chingwe, investments by various players in the DVC had influenced this positive growth.
“About 60 % of the investment was channelled towards improving efficiency and capacity at processing level and also new entrants into the sector had also been mobilised,” she said.
Despite the great improvement in local production, Mrs Chingwe noted that the country was far from realizing its goals as it needs a minimum of 131 million litres of milk for self-sufficiency.
“Last year’s shortfall was 40 million litres and this figure is expected to go below 30 million by the end of this year if the country achieves the 108 million litres projected to be realised this year.”
Stakeholders in the DVC cited high feed costs, low level of productivity, low dairy herd size and quality, limited availability of low-cost long-term funding and illegal imports as barriers to increased raw milk production.
According to the Livestock and Meat Advisory Council (LMAC) Executive Administrator Dr Reneth Mano, there is a need for a properly structured dairy investment fund to provide loans to trained farmers.
“The dairy industry is in dire need of a properly structured dairy investment fund (DIF) to offer loans to trained and capacitated small to medium-sized dairy farmers,“ he said.
SADC delegation visits Zimbabwe
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe hosted a delegation from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to discuss a regional initiative aimed at promoting sustainable development and economic growth in the fisheries sector.
Dubbed the ‘ProFish Blue project’, the initiative is part of a larger multinational programme aimed at improving fisheries governance and the blue economy trade corridors in the region.
The delegation comprised officials from the Botswana government with their Zimbabwean counterparts and private sector players.
“The overall objective of the project is to promote sustainable management and use of fisheries resources within the blue growth context in the SADC region,” ProFish Blue project coordinator from SADC, Mr Alexander Kefi said.
“This will enable us to improve food security, reduce poverty levels through employment opportunities, facilitate intra-regional trade and enhance the adaptive capacity of fish value chain communities against climate change and other external shocks.”
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