The Dairy Association of Zambia (DAZ) is importing pure dairy cow breeds from South Africa on behalf of farmers in order to assist with meeting the growing demand for improved dairy cows as well as to improve the quantity of milk production among smallholder and emerging dairy farmers.
In an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, DAZ Public Relations Manager Sampa Chipemba said it is expensive and difficult for farmers buying in small numbers or quantities to access animals of their choice from out of the country on their own, therefore the need to work with the association.
Chipemba said apart from the actual costs of importing a single animal, protocols like getting an import permit, quarantine costs and insurance costs among others make it very cumbersome if one is importing a single or few animals.
He told ZBT that the farmers themselves purchase the animals and the association simply facilitates the purchase, therefore the farmers are bearing all the costs of ensuring that the animals get in the country. Farmers that intend to get high quality pure breeds should engage the association to benefit from this initiative.
Chipemba said the association decided to work with the farmers in order to lift the burden of the long process of importing animals on small-scale farmers and starter farmers to access pure high yielding dairy breeds.
“We have come on board to merely provide a service of aggregating the orders for farmers so that the costs are spread over many animals and at the same time access animals from reputable cattle breeders and suppliers”, he said.
He said the target is to facilitate the purchase of 200 animals on behalf of the farmers per quarter and the first purchase was in December 2021 adding that the association has facilitated the purchase of 114 Friesians and 27 Jersey for the farmers.
Chipemba mentioned that the next batch is expected into the country in the second week of March 2022 and then the subsequent will follow in June/July and September/October respectively. He has urged farmers who would like to purchase these good breeds to contact the association’s secretariat in Lusaka.
