Tafadzwa Ndlovu Herald Reporter
OVER 100 delegates attending a three-day African Dairy Conference and Exhibition yesterday toured Alpha Omega Dairy Farm in Mazowe to get an appreciation of the dairy industry in Zimbabwe.
The delegation, which comprised dairy experts from 10 African countries, toured the processing factory, milk collection centre, the farm and game park at the farm.
The delegates were attending the 9th session of the African Dairy Conference and Exhibition which was held from September 24 – 26 in Harare under theme: “Enhancing Africa’s Food Security — ‘The Milk Way.’
The manager of the dairy farm, Mr Stanely Nhari explained to the delegates how the milk was produced and how they managed more than 1 000 herd of cattle, with 445 cattle for milk production.
He said the dairy industry had a huge potential to boost the country’s economy through production and supply of dairy products for both local and export markets.
“Reviving the dairy industry is critical,” he said.
“The dairy farming industry can boost the economy in numerous ways. If all dairy farmers thrive to improve the way they operate, this can help our economy to cut imports and save foreign currency. We have the potential to produce high-quality milk, yoghurt, cheese, ice cream or any other dairy products locally.”
Mr Nhari told delegates that the milking system and machinery at the farm was highly sophisticated and it was possible to detect whether a cow has a disease, has been over milked or under milked.
Given the huge capital investment at the farm, he said, he was optimistic that the farm will be one of the leading producers and suppliers of dairy products in the country by next year.
He said that there was need to engage with different stakeholders such as dairy farmers association to discuss ways to improve dairy production in the country.
Mr Michael Gitonga Njeru, a Kenyan delegate who is also into dairy farming appreciated the work being done by Alpha Omega and encouraged other African countries to emulate work at the dairy farm.
Alpha Omega Dairy Farm is a subsidiary of Gushungo Holdings which started operating on 22 June last year. The dairy plant has capacity to produce 70 000 litres of raw milk per day and employs more than 52 people.
Delegates were drawn from Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Rwanda, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, Sudan and Zimbabwe.