Plastic money usage spikes milk sales

MILK production has continued on an upward trend and is expected to end the year 17 percent higher than last year, on increased capacity by farmers and expected boom in sales on dairy products through the use of plastic money.

According to the Dairy Services Unit, due to the cash crisis, the market was now depressed but with more consumers adopting plastic money usage, milk sales had begun to show an improvement.

An official with the unit, Mr Addmore Waniwa said people were now buying milk especially through Point of Sale (POS) facilities.

He said with the prevailing trend, 68 million litres increase in milk volumes was likely to be realised at the end of the year compared to last year’s 58 million litres.

“Milk production has continued to improve Mr Maphosa says he irrigates his field using the flood irrigation system at night as well as burning old tyres on the surroundings of the crop to improve temperatures.

Umguza District is Matabeleland North’s prime farming area and it is home to most of the irrigable land in the province.

Matabeleland South Agritex provincial officer Mr Judia Ncube said it was of paramount importance for horticultural producers to be wary of weather conditions during this winter period.

“Those that are into horticultural produce cropping should constantly compared to last year mainly due to the current breeding projects and importation of more animals. The use of new equipment and increased capacity by farmers has also contributed to the continued growth in the sector,” said Mr Waniwa.

He said although the increase percentage had gone down compared to the first quarter of the year where a 17,63 percent, 22,43 percent and 16,78 percent growth in volumes was recorded for January, February and March respectively compared to 11,79 percent in May, there was nothing amiss as the dry season was approaching.

“We are now going into the dry periods which are characterised by reduced forage in terms of pastures but the situation will improve around September. At the end of this year, a bigger growth will be realised compared to 2015,” he said. According to statistics from the Dairy Services Unit, milk retailed by producers in March and April increased marginally by be in touch with the Meteorological Department so as to be informed about weather conditions in their area. These days, temperatures drop to even below zero degrees Celsius at night.

“If temperatures drop to such levels we always encourage them to sprinkle their crops or put in place windbreakers to protect them as well as seeking assistance from Agritex extension officers on how best to avert their produce from being damaged due to the cold spell,” said Mr Ncube. 1,6 percent and 2,1 percent respectively but fell drastically in May from April’s 619 903l to 561 255l with a —10,90 percent difference compared to the same period last year.

Mr Waniwa said this decrease was as a result of a depressed market demand.

“There were producers who were doing their own farm processing and retailing but due to a depressed market were now finding it difficult to sell their products.

“They have since resorted to sending their milk to big processors like Dairiboard as it is easier to reduce the risk,” Mr Waniwa said.

However despite increased production, the Zimbabwe Dairy Industry Trust has said more still needs to be done by the industry to meet the national requirement of 120 million litres annually.

Last year, a total of 57,5 million litres was produced leaving a 52,5 percent deficiency of milk supply.