Lack of Escom power frustrates milk producers
Some Milk Bulking Groups (MBGs) in Mchinji and Dowa have cried foul over lack of connectivity to the national electricity grid, which is affecting their bulked milk.
This came to light during a recent media tour in the districts organised by the Civil Society Agriculture Network (CisaNet) under the Central Daily-Up Project (CDSP), of which Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) is the implementing partner.
The project is being implemented in targeted MBGs in the three Central Region districts of Mchinji, Dowa and Lilongwe.
Chairperson for Gondoli MBG in Dowa Foster Kapondera said the grouping, which has 144 members, is negatively affected by the lack of electricity at its centre and has resorted to using a diesel-powered generator.
“Although we have access to diesel-powered generators, we are forced to spend more money on diesel, maintenance and servicing the machines,” he said.
Kapondera said the group uses an average of 50 litres of diesel per month, which he said takes up more money compared to being connected to the national power grid.
Echoing similar concerns, Lazalo Mwale who chairs Chiosya MBG in Traditional Authority (T/A) Simphasi in Mchinji said on several occasions, they have been forced to throw away milk after going bad due to intermittent power supply from the generator.
He, therefore, appealed to Escom to consider their application, which was made long time ago. n
