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FA R M S K I L L S A F R I C A
AUTUMN 2011 ISSUE
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
16
OWEN ATK I NSON
Most farmers have 1 cow but one entrepreneur is
already up to 14 cows; he buys and processes milk
from other farmers too, selling yoghurt in plastic
pouches through street vendors.
Why dairy?
My first question was: why introduce
dairying, as opposed to other potential
aid?
The reasons are interesting.
1.
Dairy farming is possibly the most
effective way of lifting subsistence
farmers out of poverty. Selling milk creates
a good year round cash flow, compared
with crops, for example. In addition, cows
create capital; a cow is an investment
which will grow as calves are born. So
capital and cash-flow both help to create
a kind of middle-class who have a hope
of self-improvement through education of
some of their children and by affording
some basic healthcare.
2.
Cows convert cheap forage into milk.
In Mozambique, land is not the limiting
factor (there is loads of good, fertile
land in areas of good annual rainfall),
but the ability to cultivate it is the
problem, given that it is all done by
hand with hand-tools. So grass is
abundant, at least at certain times of
year, and only requires young boys to
cut it (by scythe) for feeding to the
cows, which is then converted into milk.
No machinery is required and no time
consuming cultivation and weeding.
3.
Dairy produce is a valuable source
of nutrition (fats, protein, vitamins and
minerals) to a local population in which
nutritional deficiency is rife. Pot-bellied
children fed a protein-deficient diet of
maize meal are depressingly common -
the condition is called kwashiorkor.
Challenges:
The next question I had was: ‘how?’
To start a dairy industry from scratch is
mind-bogglingly challenging - and this
is where the LOL expertise is invaluable.
Some components to consider are:
1.
Promoting a culture of drinking milk and
consuming dairy products.
2.
Considering how to convert milk to
something which lasts more than a few
hours - there is no electricity let alone
refrigeration here, outside the main towns.
Basic processing includes boiling and then
inoculating to produce yoghurt, or some
larger farms (50 cows plus) might consider
their own pasteurisation unit and cheese
production. There are plans to build an
UHT plant in the region I was working in,
using foreign investment. This would create
a huge demand for local milk production,
but the investment necessary runs into
the $millions.
3.
A supply chain must be set up going
from cow to milk collection centre (MCC)
to processor to retailer to consumer.
Of course the supply chain might be as
simple as fresh milk from cow to farmer
and his immediate neighbours, but this will
limit the opportunities for more widespread
wealth creation as the local market
becomes saturated.
4.
Having the correct cow. The Mozambique
project has bought in-calf Jersey heifers
from South Africa to loan to the farmers.
Farmers eventually pay off their loan
when they return another in-calf heifer
back to the project. The Jersey is relatively
heat tolerant, pliable and will not milk
excessively to the detriment of her own
body condition. However, she is not
resistant to the plethora of local cattle
diseases (mainly tick borne) so must be
zero-grazed and religiously treated for
ticks every week. Milk production
typically peaks at around 18-20 litres and
4-12 litres is common-place. Milking, of
course, is by hand. Plans are afoot for
cross-breeding the Jersey with the local
breed cows, which are used for meat and
draft animals. The F1 cross will be more
disease resistant, but not as milky.
5.
Training:
some send-a-cow type projects
in the past have famously fallen flat on
their face due to lack of expertise on how
to care for and feed these exotic milking
beasts. Cow death rates in the first year
are often 20% or more. The LOL
Mozambique project is rightly proud of
its first year adult death rate of just 2.5%,
which is testament to the support and
training it gives to the farmers. For
example, each community has a trained
Community Livestock Worker whose
responsibility it is to tick spray every
cow in their community every week.
Farmers only receive a cow after
completing a training course, building a
suitable compound and storing a minimum
of hay. Cows which aren't cared for
properly are removed from the farmer.