Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers (ZADF) is rolling out a nationwide artificial insemination programme in a bid to increase the herd of dairy cows in the country.
The exercise is meant to improve the production of milk.
Zimbabwe’s milk production rose nine percent to 99,82 million litres in 2023 from 91,39 million litres in 2022, with the annual milk requirement standing at about 120 million litres.
The country has been supplementing through imports.
In an interview, ZADF chief executive officer (CEO), Mrs Paidamoyo Chadoka said they were selling semen at subsided prices to ensure affordability to farmers.
“As ZADF we are promoting the use of artificial insemination for breeding initiatives in the dairy sector as we aim to increase the herd numbers of our dairy animals. Currently, as an association, we have been capacitated by industry and there are various initiatives that we are rolling out.
“Some projects have capacitated us to have subsided semen available for those farmers that are interested in dairy genetics to improve the milk production from their herd,” she said.
Mrs Chadoka said they had conventional semen and sexed semen available at their office in Harare as well as through their officers in different provinces.
She said because of the need to promote milk production in the country, breeding and increasing the herd size, it was important for them to be able to achieve the milk volumes that are required annually.
“As ZADF we have a facility that is available for dairy farmers and beef farmers that may be interested in dairy genetics. The subsided semen project has been well supported by the dairy industry as well as some development partners such as We Effect under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) project.
“All farmers are welcome to come and get this subsidised semen so that we can improve our dairy genetics on beef and dairy animals to have higher-yielding cows in the future,” said Mrs Chadoka.
She, however, said the effects of the El Nino-induced drought were becoming evident at dairy farms as they were having farmers reporting a decline in their milk production due to the challenges they are facing.
Mrs Chadoka said as dairy farmers they were also trying to implement the drought-mitigating initiatives being rolled out by the Government.
“We appreciate the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development for supporting us to also see how we can save the dairy herd as well as try and keep our milk production as high as possible despite the challenges that we are currently facing due to the effects of the El Nino-induced drought,” she said.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s milk production rose by 21 percent to 27,3 million litres during the first quarter of 2024 from 22,61 million litres in the same period last year, the latest data shows.
Statistics from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development’s Dairy Services Department, show that the country’s milk intake by processors went up 21 percent in the first quarter of 2024 to 25,07 million litres from 20,74 million litres in the comparative period.
Retail milk production increased by 19 percent to 2,22 million litres in the first quarter of 2024, compared to 1,86 million litres in the first quarter of 2023.
Average milk output for the period under review stood at 9,1 million litres. In the first quarter of 2023, the country’s average milk output stood at 7,53 million litres.
In a recent interview, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister, Dr Anxious Masuka said there was a need to find viable ways to sustain growth in milk production.
“The statistics for the first three months of this year are indicating that we recorded an increase so we are trending well. Ordinarily, we have these bumps but I think that feed which constitutes 65 to 75 percent of the cost, in an El Nino year will be a challenge.
“I think we should be working collectively with ZADF to find out sustainable ways of ensuring that we sustain this growth,” he said.
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