Zimbabwe to import 5000 heifers

DAIRY farmers in Zimbabwe are planning to import close to  5 000 heifers over a three year period to boost milk production after the national herd was decimated by disease outbreaks and farm upheavals following the government's land redistribution programme.

According to The Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers (ZADF) national chairman Craig Follwell the country's national dairy herd had declined to 28 000 over the years and the importation of heifers would boost the numbers.

"We are looking forward to boosting the dairy industry by importing about 5 000 heifers over a period of three years.

"The industry is capital intensive, so we need a lot of capital, but it should be cheap finance that can be payable over a five-year period with a maximum interest rate of 5%." Follwell told the Southern Africa.

However, Follwell did no indicate the source country.

Follwell said in 2014, dairy farmers produced about 55,5 million litres of milk, an increase of 1,55% to what was produced in 2013.

This year, the association is targeting an increase of 0,5%.

The association currently produces  about 4 500 million litres  of milk per month.

Zimbabwe imports 60% of its milk from neighbouring South Africa.