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(TIMES) Smallholder milk processing project empowers Choma dairy farmers

Smallholder milk processing project empowers Choma dairy farmers
BY GILLIAN MUKULA MWABA

ZAMBIA has recorded a proliferation of different projects that have been introduced in the country to address issues related to poverty reduction or improving the delivery of services to the community.

Yet, a number of them have ended implementation of their activities without any positive impact on the intended beneficiaries despite spending colossal sums of tax payers’ money. On the other hand, some initiatives have left an indelible mark despite working with limited resources.

One such project which has left an unforgettable mark in Choma District in Southern Province is the 18-month Smallholder Milk Processing Extension Project (SMEP) whose implementation started in June 2007 at a total budget of only K381,000,000.

The pilot initiative, which aimed at promoting milk processing by small-scale farmers for improved community livelihoods and poverty reduction, has been effectively implemented by the livestock development branch (LDB), a wing of the department of veterinary and livestock development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MACO) in Choma.

Through the implementation of the public service management (PSM) under management development division (MDD) at Cabinet office, the project has made tremendous efforts to enhance livestock extension services for purposes of improving the livelihood of the communities.

With project intervention, small-scale farmers in the area are now competent in producing and packaging flavoured yoghurt.

The farmers are not only able to reduce losses made on milk but determine the price of the commodity.

Before project implementation, milk processing companies or buyers dictated prices for the product.

Farmers can now decide to withhold their milk if unhappy with the price or add value to the product to make and package yoghurt.

The changed scenario has been made possible with financial support from the Service delivery improvement fund (SDIF) under PSM.

The SDIF has been demonstrating visibility of the reforms through supporting activities that bring about observable changes in service delivery and impact positively on the communities.

Commenting on the impact the project has left in the area, Choma District Dairy Cooperative Union board chairperson, Farmer Noole said their dream was to stand firm and compete at a commercial level.

“We are no longer going to allow commercial milk processing companies to determine the price of our milk. We want to hold the future of this industry in our hands and be able to improve our living stands,” he said.

Mr Noole revealed that Choma District Dairy Cooperative Union has received grant of K360,000,000 from a named non-governmental organisation (NGO) to install milk processing equipment which will include a 600-litre capacity pasteuriser.

He assured that with this assistance and best practices learnt from the SDIF project, the farmers were set to succeed.

Southern Province is an area characterised by cattle-rearing, an activity from which communities derive their livelihoods.

Milk-processing, therefore, holds the potential to enhance the livelihoods of these communities as an income-generating or employment-creating venture.

However, milk-processing has not been undertaken to any significant level by the communities because they lack the know-how and the equipment required.

The resultant scenario is where smallholder dairy farmers in the province are compelled to sell all their milk to commercial or large-scale processors at unfavourable prices and conditions.

Consequently, the potential of smallholder dairy farmers to raise more income from their dairy activities remains underutilised.

It is against this background that the LDB conceived and began implementation of the pilot project to promote milk-processing in Mazabuka, Monze, Choma and Kalomo districts.

The four districts were selected for the project because of the existence of well-organised smallholder dairy farming cooperative societies in those areas.

At the commencement of the project, the SMEP set five outputs, which are building capacity in milk-processing in dairy associations, production of milk by-products, reduced wastage of fresh milk, increased income from milk by-products and increased employment levels.

According to the provincial livestock production officer, Wakunguma Mukumbuta, who has been coordinating the project, the initiative has attained remarkable milestones under each of the five outputs it set at the start of the project.

For instance, milk-processing capacity has been built in the four dairy associations in the targeted districts through provision of training and equipment.

In addition, five dairy farmers in each association and four project staff have also been trained in milk processing, bringing the total number of persons trained to 24.

The project has also been able to provide processing, packaging and storage equipment to all four associations.

Dairy extension materials have been generated for continuous distribution while the processing technologies have been improved with continuous practice, leading to better quality yoghurt being produced.

Better packaging materials have also been introduced, leading to better marketing of the yoghurt.

Currently, all selected smallholder dairy cooperative societies are producing yoghurt and since the inception of the project, over 15,000 litres of yoghurt have been produced, reflecting a monetary value of at least K150,000,000 which has been used to boost farmer dividends, re-investment and the conditions of service for employees of the respective cooperative.

Baseline data before project implementation shows that dairy farmers had no capacity to process milk, hence there was no production of yoghurt in the dairy associations.

Although making of yoghurt is now ongoing in all the four associations, Choma should now be used as a case study for other districts that have similar conditions and may want to replicate the project.

This has made a difference to the dairy farmers who in the past sold milk to large-scale farmers who dictated the price of the commodity.

In some cases, the milk went to waste because buyers were not readily available while lack of storage facilities impacted negatively on sales.

What is also of significance is that project sites have improved their capacity to keep sales records as the SMEP made this a basic requirement.

Although the above milestones have been achieved, Mr Mukumbuta said the SMEP faced some challenges of low production of yoghurt in Mazabuka, Monze and Kalomo sites but that the scenario was likely to change for the better as the project was only on a pilot basis.

Apart from milk processing, each project site has its custom-designed extension services programme to meet the specific needs of its dairy farmers.

These programmes have been assisted with motorised transport provided by management development division (MDD) at Cabinet office, which is headed by Permanent Secretary, Ngosa Chisupa.

The project has also been focusing on development of extension programmes for each project site, and these programmes have been implemented under cost-sharing arrangements between the implementing institution and the dairy societies.

The project can be replicated in other provinces of Zambia to ensure value addition.

Send your contributions to: The Permanent Secretary, Management Development Division, Independence Avenue, P.O Box 30208, Lusaka or ps.mdd@cabinet.gov.zm or gillianmwaba@yahoo.com

Labels: CHOMA, DAIRY

posted by MrK @ 5:30 PM