ZIMBABWE’S dairy sector has seen a promising 20 percent increase in milk production in the first half of 2024, reaching 55,11 million litres, according to the Agriculture ministry’s Dairy Services Department.
However, farmers are facing significant challenges due to extreme drought and El Niño conditions. “Dairy farmers have been quite resilient,” said Edward Warambwa, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers (ZADF).
“We are trying to get some interventions to reduce production costs. We are under severe stress in terms of feeding, some of our farming is even importing.
” Farmers are also struggling to secure long-term funding from financial institutions. Despite these challenges, milk intake by processors increased by 20 percent during the half year to June 2024, reaching 50,64 million liters.
This growth is attributed to the US$50 million investment made by processors in the last five years. Retail milk production also saw a 17 percent increase. June milk output rose 17,33 percent to 9,26 million liters compared to the same month last year.
However, this figure is down 2 percent compared to the previous month and 3 percent compared to the highest output of 9,52 million litres recorded in January 2024. Despite the impact of the drought, industry players anticipate a 13,2 percent increase in milk production in 2024, reaching 113 million litres.
The dairy herd also grew by 13,4 percent from 2022 to 2023. Despite these positive trends, Zimbabwe still relies on imports to meet its annual milk requirement of approximately 120 million litres