Smallholder farmers in Traditional Authority (T/A) Mkukula in Dowa District have expressed excitement with the economic strides they have made through dairy farming.
The farmers, under Mbalame Dairy Group, said this on Tuesday during a tour of the area organised by Norwegian Church Aid and DanChurchAid under the Sustainable Food Systems for Rural Agriculture Transformation and Resilience (Transform) Programme.
The group’s chairperson Pretorius Msonthi said they now own 254 dairy cows and produce 260 litres of milk daily.
He said: “As a group, we have been rearing cows for some time. We had 86 cows, but we lacked the capacity to boost milk production.
“In 2020, we were incorporated into the Transform Programme under Trustees of Agricultural Promotion Programmes [Tapp] Malawi who gave us 69 dairy cows and a milk storage tank.”
Msonthi said the initiative boosted milk production for the 290 members that also received 97 dairy cows from the World Bank-funded Agricultural Commercialisation (Agcom) programme.
“We now make over K3 million monthly through milk sales. Members have benefitted a lot and use the money for fees, farming activities and household needs,” he said.
A member Lorraine Kachigunda said she owns two dairy cows and makes K7 500 daily through milk sales.
Tapp programmes officer Anita Mangochi said they supported the farmers with cows, equipment and skills to boost milk production.
“We empowered the farmers in milk business considering the potential the dairy industry has in transforming people’s lives,” she said.
Transform programme, which was running in Rumphi, Mzimba, Kasungu, Dowa and Mchinji districts since 2020, is phasing out this year.
The project sought to contribute to the country’s sustainable agricultural transformation by improving income, food and nutrition security among smallholder farmers.
