Maravi

(HERALD) Dairy farmers association sets up revolving fund

Dairy farmers association sets up revolving fund
Tuesday, 21 June 2011 01:00

The National Association of Dairy Farmers has established a revolving fund to help farmers procure inputs and finance other related expenditure. Chairman of the association Mr Ajs Kirk said the fund was intended to underpin the current growth in milk production.

It will strictly be accessed by the association's members, and is meant to finance things like stockfeeds, dairy cattle and vaccines.

Owing to the instability in the agricultural sector in the last few years, milk production in the country slumped from more than 20 million litres a month to the current 3,5 million.

Similarly, the dairy herd dropped from 192 000 to 22 000.

But Mr Kirk said milk production is on the rise again owing to the prevailing economic stability, something that the association wanted to underpin through the revolving fund.

"Dairy farmers have been facing shortages of working capital to acquire inputs but this has been addressed by the fund that we have introduced," he said.

"Payments for veterinary charges, money to acquire stockfeeds and for buying cattle is being sourced from this fund," Mr Kirk said.

He said farmers from as far as Gokwe and Umzingwane had already started benefitting from the fund. - New Ziana.

Labels: DAIRY

posted by MrK @ 4:40 PM