Feature - Black dairy farmers opt for crop production

Milk production in Zimbabwe faces a new challenge as inexperienced black dairy farmers abandon the industry and opt for crop production. The new farmers were given dairy farms to rear cows and produce milk during the fast-track land redistribution exercise. Silas Chirume, 45, whose farm is situated in the Beatrice area, about 80 kilometres to the southwest of Harare in Mashonaland East province, is one of scores of farmers who are abandoning dairy farming. Chirume told IRIN he had acquired his farm in 2002, but was finding it increasingly difficult to continue with milk production because the number of cows had dropped from 80 to 25. He obtained a loan from the government to buy the dairy herd from the white owner of the farm, who had since relocated to New Zealand. "I started off with 80 cows, but I was forced to slay 40 of them and sell the meat in order to be able to repay the loan that I acquired from the government. The other 15 were either stolen or died due to natural causes," said a distraught Chirume. "The major obstacle in [the dairy] industry is of the scarcity of inputs. When I took up dairy farming I thought it was an easy business, but hardly had I started, did I realise that there was much more to it than leading cows into a milking pen," he said. "I have had a difficult time trying to acquire stock-feeds, which are generally in short supply in the country. I am failing to access enough financial support from the banks, some of which say my business has become too risky," Chirume complained. Stock-feeds are highly priced because they are in short supply after two successive droughts and reduced production caused by the removal of white farmers, who produced the bulk of the cereal crops required in manufacturing the feed. More than half the costs in diary farming are incurred by stock-feeds, according to a presidential land review report produced in August last year. "Stock-feed products have now become very expensive for farmers, and production viability, in the face of controlled producer prices in all livestock sectors, has been severely affected," the report noted. Chirume said he was also unable to provide adequate veterinary services for his cattle, because he did not have the financial resources. The situation was aggravated by the fact that drugs and dosing chemicals were also in short supply. "It was painful to watch as some of my cows succumbed to diseases such as foot-and-mouth because I could not afford to buy the vaccines, which, anyway, could hardly be found," he said. Chirume, without the approval of the government, was now experimenting with paprika and soya beans. Even though he was not sure whether the soil on his plot was suitable for these two cash crops, he was hoping to earn more money this year from them than he did from dairy farming. A recent survey by the National Association of Dairy Farmers (NADF), which has 318 members, showed that the number of dairy farmers was still declining, with 120 farmers, mostly black, having given up since 2000. The NADF expressed concern that the country would end up as a net importer of milk if the situation continued. NADF spokesperson Hilary Blair told IRIN that the prohibitive costs involved in dairy farming were a major contributing factor in the declining number of farmers, as were ongoing insufficient feed supplies, caused by farmers being prohibited from growing cereal crops for silage. "Many producers also do not have access to sufficient arable land and natural veld; many producers have been prevented from growing maize and sorghum for silage, and utilising natural veld," Blair said. "There are many examples where milk production on a farm has dropped by 25 percent to 45 percent because of insufficient feed, as a result of the farmer not being able to carry on with normal cropping programmes," she explained. Blair said prohibiting the planting of cereal crops for fodder affected mainly the remaining white farmers who had been spared the compulsory acquisition of their farms. She acknowledged that the national dairy herd had been affected by thefts, with new settlers mostly being suspected of cattle rustling and slaughter. "There are many reported cases of theft, slaughter and maiming of dairy cattle," she said, adding that milk production was currently 60 percent of what it had been before the land reform programme began. The country needs over 13 million litres of milk every month, but production is now less than 9 million litres. Another new dairy farmer, Tamuka Zimuto, 51, in the Goromonzi area, some 35 kilometres to the east of Harare in Mashonaland East, said he was also turning to crops because milk production was "too demanding". Maize farming was easier for him because he grew up in a rural community where it was grown. He also bemoaned the fact that when he got onto his plot, some of the infrastructure had been vandalised or stolen. "Dairy farming was mostly the preserve of white farmers, and blacks were minimally involved in it before the land reform programme. As a result, most of us who went into dairy lacked the required expertise and it will need a strong policy initiative on the part of government and farmers' unions to train dairy farmers," said Zimuto. He admitted that he only visited the farm on weekends, as he was a full-time employee with a freight company in Harare. Blair attributed the disillusionment new dairy farmers were experiencing to this part-time and "half-hearted" approach. She also said new farmers lacked the expertise required for successful dairy farming. "Dairy farming demands a farmer with years of experience and training. He must be a farmer, a veterinary doctor, a nutritionist and he must be on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. These facts may help explain why new and inexperienced dairy farmers may be abandoning their new-found trade," she said. The presidential land review report recommended that 20,000 heifers be imported "to boost the national herd", and "concrete plans by [the government] should be made to increase the number of new indigenous farmers in milk production through various support programmes," to resuscitate the dairy industry.