OPPORTUNITY TO VENTURE INTO DAIRY CATTLE FARMING

MBABANE – An opportunity to venture into the lucrative dairy industry.

Aspiring individuals alongside dairy cattle owners and keepers will be equipped with skills of exploring some of the opportunities in the industry through an eight-week course which starts next Tuesday (February 1). It will be held at the Eswatini Dairy Board (EDB) conference room at Enguleni House in Manzini. According to a correspondence from EDB,  selected days for training are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday between 5:30pm and 7pm. Topics to be covered include introduction to dairy science and management; requirements and preparations for starting a  dairy project; fodder production; dairy cattle feeding and breeding; calf rearing; clean milk production; legal issues; disease prevention and control; and business plan preparation and business management; among others.

Fee

Each person will pay only E500 to participate. The fee is to be paid at the Dairy Board Office. Enquiries related to the programme can be made on liaising with Course Coordinator Bandile Mdluli on 7662 4422. Meanwhile, in an overview of the sector back in 2020; it was reported that the local dairy industry was lucrative in nature, presenting a number of investment opportunities for both domestic and foreign investment. The country is among the African countries with a high consumption per capita of dairy products (90Lt/capita/annum) which present enormous investment opportunities in the locally dairy industry. The country also has a comparative advantage in agriculture with good climatic conditions and access to both regional and international export markets.

Despite the high consumption per capita, the country remains a net importer of dairy products with approximately over 80 per cent of local consumed dairy products imported mainly from the Republic of South Africa (RSA). The products with a huge local demand are UHT milk, Yoghurt, cheese, Emasi (sour milk), fresh milk, dairy juices and baby formula. The dairy industry in the country when calculated is said to be worth over E1 billion.  This is inclusive of the values of imports, local milk produced, dairy farm establishments, and value of dairy products processed on the country.

Presenting

The dairy sector in Eswatini is said to be presenting a number of opportunities for farmers and investors to exploit. As the industry continues to grow exponentially, various investment opportunities in all the stages of the value chain are exposed and yet to be exploited. Some of the key investment opportunities include large scale dairy farming. Reports suggest raw milk demand by local processors is way above the current supply by the local dairy farmers. This presents a significant market opportunity to venture into large scale farming as the milk market is guaranteed. There are various farms suitable for large scale dairying in the country which are available for lease or procurement. There are also opportunities in dairy machinery, material and equipment.  EDB reports a significant lack of dairy farming and processing equipment as most are sourced from other countries at high prices.

Investing

The country is yet to manufacture its own equipment and materials thus this opportunity is available for investing as the industry continues to grow. “As the country continues to import large quantities of milk and milk products from neighbouring countries, it remains evident that the country is still unable to produce enough dairy products for itself. This therefore gives evidence to the opportunity to venture into milk processing in the country to tap into this lucrative market,” highlighted EDB. Other opportunities are available in feed manufacture, which include hay making and dairy feed manufacturing. The industry boasts various investment opportunities and encourages investment into the industry.

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