Zimbabwe is moving towards milk self-sufficiency after production increased by over 14 per cent to more than 90 million litres last year.
Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmer’s chief executive officer, Mrs Paidamoyo Chadoka, attributed the increase to a number of factors. She said:
The increase in milk production is mainly due to improved health management systems, availing of a dairy revitalisation fund, improved productivity per cow herd, Presidential and command silage schemes among other factors.
The southern African nation has a milk annual national demand of at least 130 million litres.
Data released by the Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers shows that milk production increased from 79.6 million litres in 2021 to more than 91 million litres in 2022, according to ZBC News.
Milk powder imports reportedly dropped by 17 per cent from 8.9 million kilogrammes in 2021 to 7.4 million kilogrammes in 2022.
Reducing milk powder imports will cut the import bill which will ultimately see Zimbabwe saving hard cash, creating more jobs and generating revenue for the treasury from taxes, according to Dr Nyasha Kaseke, University of Zimbabwe’s Business School chairman.
The dairy industry has revealed that viability in future will depend on affordable production costs, favourable pricing systems, increased access to finance and stable energy supplies.
In 2020, Zimbabwe exported US$1.03M in milk, making it the 75th largest exporter of milk in the world, according to the OEC World.