Zimpapers Logo

Rumbidzayi Zinyuke Manicaland Bureau
GOVERNMENT has been urged to invest in small-scale milk production as the revival of Zimbabwe’s dairy industry rests in the competitive performance of communal farmers. In an interview with The Herald at Watsomba Township, Mutasa, on Wednesday, We Effect country manager and regional programme coordinator for rural development Mr Goran Forssen said there was still a huge gap between production and imports, which could be filled by growing the communal dairy production.

“There is still big need for small-scale farmers to come on board to increase the production of milk in Manicaland. Zimbabwe is importing the bulk of its milk, so this means that there is a ready market for local milk. However, the cost of production is too high but that is a policy issue, which Government can work on,” he said. “But there is an opportunity to grow. This is why we support organisations that deal with communal farmers so that they grow small-scale production into large scale.”

He said for rural farmers to increase production, there was need to create better linkages between the milk collection centres across the country and all large-scale dairy milk processors to ensure that once milk production increased, there would be a ready market for it with the processors who are on board. Mr Forsen said there was need to also increase the number of collection centres in the rural areas to encourage smallholder farmers to get into dairy farming.

“There is need for more collection points in the rural areas because when farmers have to walk long distances to reach a centre, there are a lot of losses that occur and we need to minimise this. Zimbabwe has something to learn from Zambia, which has successfully increased the participation of smallholder farmers in national production,” he added. Mr Naboth Makunike, a dairy farmer in Mutasa, said there was room for rural farmers to grow their milk output if they worked together.

“The key to success in dairy production is information sharing between farmers and extension workers on the ground. We cannot do it alone but we need to come together as a group and share ideas on how we can increase production and grow the dairy industry in Manicaland,” he said.