Business Reporter

The Zimbabwe Agricultural Growth Programme (ZAGP) — a partnership between Government, the European Development Fund and the European Union — has bought 200 heifers as part of an ambitious programme to increase milk production to 120 million litres per year by 2022.

Already, 105 heifers, which are part of the 200, arrived in the country on April 26, while the remaining 95 are expected in three weeks’ time.

Zimbabwe currently produces just below 80 million litres of milk against a national demand of 120 million.

It, however, has a processing capacity of over 400 million litres per year.

The deficit is met by imports that gobble an estimated US$7 million per month.

The country primarily imports milk products such as cheese and margarine.

Overall, ZAGP, through the Transforming Zimbabwe’s Dairy Value Chain for the Future (TranZ DVC) initiative, plans to buy 500 heifers by year-end and scale up to 1 000 by 2022.

Currently, Zimbabwe has a national dairy herd of 39 000.

Essentially, the programme — which is using a buy-one get-one for free model — will see heifers being distributed through large-scale processors (Dairibord (70), Dendairy (50), Prodairy (45), Nestle (10) and Kefalos (35).

TranZ DVC project coordinator Dr Edson Chifamba said for each heifer the processors receive, they buy one for small-scale farmers.

“One heifer is for free but the one from the processor will be paid for by the beneficiary.

“Of the 200 heifers we purchased, 105 arrived in the country on the 26th of April and the other 95 will arrive in three weeks’ time,” he said in an e-mailed response.

TranZ DVC is still inviting applications for 300 more heifers, which we will be distributed directly to small-scale farmers later on this year.

The project is envisaged to increase small-scale dairy farmers’ net income per month from US$81 in 2018 to US$106 per household in 2022.

Dairy products are also forecast to increase their contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 0,3 percent in 2018 to 0,6 percent by 2022.

Women are targeted beneficiaries, with the project expecting the percentage of women with decent jobs in the dairy sector at farm level to rise from 39,5 percent in 2018 to 50 percent by 2022.

The percentage of youth in dairy with decent jobs at farm level is similarly projected to climb from 23 percent in 2018 to 30 percent in 2022.

Meanwhile, ZAGP intends to invest 40 million euros to develop five livestock value chains comprised of dairy, beef, poultry, pigs and goats.

Dr Chifamba said the overall objective was to contribute to the development of a diversified and efficient agriculture sector that promotes inclusive green economic growth.

ZAGP, he added, consists of five outcomes designed to increase production and productivity of the livestock sector and ensure livestock products are not only competitive but have better access to markets.

It also endeavours to promote increased public and private investment in targeted livestock value chains, improved agricultural education systems and extension services, including strengthening institutions to develop and implement institutional and regulatory frameworks.