The Malawi Milk Producers Association says it is shifting towards fully adopting artificial insemination (AI) to expand the dairy industry to meet local demand.
The association’s national director Herbert Chagona said in an interview on Saturday that the country has about 70 000 dairy cows against the industry demand of between 150 000 and 200 000 cows.
He said through an AI pilot in 17 milk bulking groups under Central Region Milk Producers Association (Crempa), 1 760 animals were targeted from last year, adding that they expect over 1 200 calves by October this year, showing the system’s impact.
cost of milk. | George Lumwira
Said Chagona: “We wanted to pilot it in Central Region because of dwindling milk production. We wanted to reach out 1 500 farmers, but so far, we have reached out to 1 760 farmers.”
He decried the rising tendency of dairy farmers selling their animals, which has become common in the Central Region, describing it as unfortunate as the animals offer reliable capital and the breeds are expensive to replace.
Said Chagona: “In order to import dairy animal such as the Jersey breed that we are currently promoting, it costs more than $1 500 [K2.6 million], now if someone had that animal, it means a long-term investment.
“Whenever they have that breed, it is not a good idea to sell, but to keep it, because by milking an animal everyday it means that farmer is also making money.”
In a separate interview, Crempa chairperson Jessie Lunguzi decried low milk prices of K700 per litre offered by processors.
She said: “Currently, the major challenge is the cost of milk because it is below the cost of production and secondly, the types of breeds that we have are low-performing and we are trying to improve.
“But a big challenge is that although statistics show that we have received many cows from donor partners, when we go in the bulking groups, we find that many farmers are just selling the cows willy-nilly.”
Ministry of Agriculture Department of Health and Livestock Development officer Isaac Gondwe said research shows that AI is more effective than bulls as it produces unique breeds faster.
He said the focus is on the Jersey breed, which suits the country’s climatic conditions due to its lower feed requirements.
Apart from Crempa, the country has two other milk producer associations; namely, Shire Valley Milk Producers Association (Shimpa) in the Southern Region and the Mpoto Milk Producers Association in the Northern Region with Shimpa producing over 80 percent of the country’s milk output.
Data from Malawi Milk Producers Association indicate that the country has 55 000 dairy cows, which are managed by farmers, and produce more than 40 million litres of milk per year.
In terms of processsing, the association data show that Malawi facilities handle about 20 million litres of milk annually, with 500 metric tonnes of cheese produced, reflecting modest yet growing domestic consumption and potential for export growth.
