Milk shortfall persists despite improved output
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday March 4, 2024 06:00
Figures disclosed by Agriculture Minister Fidelis Molao in Parliament this week, reveal that local output constituted approximately 10% of national demand last year, a decline from the previous average of 12%.
Despite an improvement in milk production, with local farmers producing 5.9 million litres between April 2023 and December 2023 compared to 1.9 million litres in the same period in 2022, challenges persist.
"The increase was due to an increase in the national herd by 100 cows, intensive selection, replacement and culling at the farms," the minister said. "Currently, the national dairy cattle herd is estimated at 4,455 cows."
The annual national demand for milk is approximately 65 million litres, with the majority imported from neighbouring countries, particularly South Africa. Between April and December 2023, a total of 36 million litres of pasteurised milk was imported, compared to 12 million litres during the same period in the 2022–2023 financial year.
Molao noted the surge in local milk consumption and highlighted government efforts to step up local production.
"In order to increase the dairy herd, my ministry has imported 2,401 straws of female sexed and ordinary semen to be sold to local farmers at subsidised prices," he said. "So far about 1,395 straws of diary semen have been sold to local farmers. The dairy subsector employs 156 permanent employees at the 52 dairy farms."
However, Molao pointed out that a shortage of fodder and the quality of dairy cows continue to hinder increased dairy production. He said the ministry plans to refurbish milk pasteurisation plants in Serowe and Pitsane to aid milk marketing for smallholder dairy farmers, but a lack of local dairy equipment supplies and engineers for the renovation has stalled the process.
"The intended purpose of the plants is to facilitate milk collection and marketing for smallholder dairy farmers," he said.
Dairy farming in the country has been constrained by a shortage of dairy cattle, recurring droughts, disease outbreaks like Foot and Mouth, inadequate and expensive dairy feed, an unskilled workforce, limited land for dairy farming, an underdeveloped value chain, and a lack of appropriate infrastructure.