By Tendai Chisiri
Sommerset Milk Hub was officially launched and opened by the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Mashonaland East Province Dr Abana Munzverengwi at Danview Ranch on 14 October.
Speaking at the ocassion, Minister Dr Appolonia Munzverengwi said the ocassion is pivotal in promoting dairy production in Zimbabwe.
She commended the private sector development, the farmers, Wellington and Lydia Nheta the anchor farmer at Danview Ranch amongst others, for coming up with various interventions throughout the dairy value chain which are targeted at empowering small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe.
“The dairy development projects were organised at the right time when the Government is promoting the revitalisation of the the dairy sector through various growth intiatives as a strategy to improve milk quantity and quality in Zimbabwe”, she said.
The national milk production for 2022 was 80 litres and 2023 projected to be over 90 million of which Mashonaland East Province is contributing more than 35%.
Sommerset Milk Hub where Danview Ranch is run by the Nheta family have partnered with more than 20 small-scale farmers to promote a sustainable inclusive and market-led dairy value chain for economic development in Marondera District.
“Sommerset Milk Hub seeks to create and sustain a dairy production through skills and knowledge dissemination as well as creating market linkages. Hence, resulting in improved livelihoods and economic empowerment of smallholder farmers”, Munzverengwi said.
With support from Government departments under Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Development, the Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers (ZADF), the Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU), and Nestle Zimbabwe as the processor and the partnership was struck between the anchor-farmer and other local farmers aimed at capacitating themselves to run a viable small scale dairy operation.
The anchor-farmer hosts the local farmers where they use the dairy facilities like cold chain management of milk, on-the-farming, access dairy feed production and processing, vaccines and market for their produce to ensure availability of their business.
The establishment of Sommerset Milk Hub in June 2021 is a result of the hardwork of Wellington Nheta, a farmer renting 250 hectares land for livestock farming since 2020.
Inspired by one heifer he received from the European Union funded by TranZ DVC project, he has grown his dairy herd herd to 43 using his own resources.
He is currently milking 24 cows producing an average of 3000 litres per week supplying Nestle Zimbabwe. Activities and business potential at the leased land attracted local farmers who approached Nheta seeking assistance . The hub is hosting 40 farmers who are producing 700 litres per week milking their indegenous animals.
TranZ DVC which is Transforming Zimbabwe’s Dairy Value Chain for the Future has ZFU, Zimbabwe Dairy Trust(ZIDT) We Effect an non-governmental finance partner fro Sweden and the Government as the partners.
Wellington Nheta who has a farming background as he grew up with his parents in farming said that is where he got his passion for farming.
“Later I got the opportunity to start farming, I started in livestock beef production. In dairy, I started with one cow and expanded from there. The cow produced about 10 litres per day and when I saw it going well, I started increasing my herd up to 60 dairy cows”, Nheta said.
” The challenges that I have is that the land is to small. I am asking the Government to give me a big land to do dairy breeding. I want to have a herd that can produce 5 000 lites per week and more land to do silage, pastures and grazing land.
He has 27 workers. As an anchor-farmer, he receives milk from local farmers and provides them with refrigeration and storage facilities. Tank from Nestle come and take milk from the ranch.
Danview Cattle Ranch farm manager Collins Chizhande said the work at the ranch is a bit chalenging in the sense that they are renting a small piece of land which is against their vision because they are hoping to be one of the best farmers but are being limited bland in terms of pastures.
“We have got quite a number of animals which are crossed as we are starters. Crosses are a bit cheap to get, resistant to diseases and are small framed meaning to say they have small stomach thereby eat less. Unlike Holsteins with huge framed bodies as they need something like 35-45kgs of feed which us very expensive for someone who us starting dairy”, Chizhande said.
They are looking forward to have 3000 litres after every 2 days in future as now they are milking 25 cattle getting 1200 litres after 2 days and they are intending to increase the herd to around 75 to 80 animals in the next 3 months. They want to dispose some of their beef herd. Neste is helping them to secure 5 000 litres milk tank revealed Chizhande.
We Effect dairy specialist Portia Makunde on behalf of TranZ DVC coordinator Edison Chifamba said there is need of 130 million litres of milk in Zimbabwe whilst farmers in the country produce according to their project at the start in January 2019.
“With farmers like Mr Nheta entering the dairy milk, the milk has increased to 90 million litres”, Makunde said.
Nestle regulatory affairs manager Yemurai Zhou said they are happy to be the launch. “We believe that an organisation to prosper in the community it works, community should also prosper that is why from the start of our business in Zimbabwe 1959, we are happy with the work we are doing to help people with our products and services. The big work we are happy with is to partner with small scale farmers”, Zhou said.
ZADF business growth and development commitee chairperson Peter Muzariri said the role of ZADF is to establish new milk collection centres, promote the production of milk not only in Zimbabwe but Africa. Small scale farmers play a pivotal role in producing milk worldwide with India small scale farmers producing 25% of world milk production”, Muzariri said.
ZFU provincial manager Vhusamuzi Dhliwayo congragulated Nheta for prospering in the prigramme. “As ZFU working with TranZ DVC, we are not leaving anyone behind. Every ine shiuld join ZFU and be empowered”, Dhliwayo said.
Chief director in the Veterinary Services Department Dr Josphat Nyika said these cattle being milked are not important than the udder itself. “This is so because for a cattle to produce 20 litres of milk, there is jeed for blood to have gone through the udder amd the blood should be 10 tonnes”, Nyika said. He sdvised farmers to keep the adder well.
Director in Agricultural Advisory and Rural Development Services Alban Mhindurwa commended Nheta for for having a low cost milk production system.
“I saw during the tour here with Minister Munzverengwi that Nheta’s calves are in a low-cost pen and also at the milk parlour amd feeding shed, they used materials that donot cost much. Even the cattles is terms of geentic they are using which are pure breeds and cross breeds take little feed that do not cost but produce rewuired milk”, Mhindurwa said.
News Sport Online 