Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s raw milk production reached 15.09 million litres in the first two months of this year, which is a 7% increase compared to the same period last year.
This growth is attributed to a combination of factors such as the importation of heifers and local breeding through artificial insemination techniques, with a focus on using sexed semen from dairy bulls, The Herald reported.
The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development reported that in February 2023:
i). raw milk intake by processors increased by 10% to 13.88 million litres,
ii). retailed milk by producers decreased by 17% to 1.21 million litres compared to the same period in 2022.
iii). raw milk output in February 2023 was 6.95 million litres, representing a 3.42% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.
iv). that’s a decrease of 15% if compared to January 2023.
Recent milk production trend:
1). In 2022, Zimbabwe produced 91.31 million litres of raw milk.
2). In 2021, Zimbabwe produced 79.6 million litres.
Zimbabwe’s raw milk production has reached 76% of the annual requirement, indicating progress towards sustainable raw milk production. The government has provided financing and other support to promote the growth of the dairy industry, according to Addmore Waniwa, an officer with the dairy services department.
Incentives to promote dairy include presidential and command silage schemes as well as subsidised semen through Transforming Zimbabwe’s Dairy Value Chain for the Future (TranZDVC) project.
The dairy industry in Zimbabwe is facing various challenges such as high production and processing expenses, lack of secure land tenure that banks can accept as collateral for loans, limited access to affordable finance and foreign currency, and high compliance costs.
Despite the increase in milk production, the country is failing to meet its monthly raw milk requirement which stands at about 10 million litres. The deficit is covered by imports.
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