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Locadia Mavhudzi Herald Reporter
KWEKWE-based dairy firm Dendairy (Private) Limited has donated 20 dairy cattle to Kaguvi Vocational Training Centre near Gweru in a move that is meant to ensure the institution trains highly skilled dairy farmers. Dendairy managing director Mr Darren Coetzee said the donation was aimed at supporting the new training programme on dairy production management that would be introduced in 2018.

In an interview, Mr Coetzee said the partnership between his company and KVTC was ongoing. “Our partnership with Kaguvi is meant to support training on dairy farming. Our hope is to see this institution transformed as a centre of excellence in milk production. We have donated 20 heifers for the dairy farming and we urge you to grow the business to over 200 dairy cows in the near future,” he said.

Mr Coetzee said KVTC had the capacity to supply his company with milk or begin to value add milk products on its own.

“If you take this dairy production seriously you will lessen the country’s burden of importing milk because you will be able to do value addition and beneficiation at this institute. Increased local production will reduce imports as well as generate income for Government from taxes and create employment in downstream industries,” he said.

“We recognised the need for this public private partnership after realising that Midlands Province is the second producer of dairy milk in Zimbabwe hence skills empowerment on dairy production should be targeted at the local youth.”

Mr Coetzee said his company supported local people through employment.