R324 000 grant for Zim dairy co-op

The Umzingwane Dairy Co-operative in Matabeleland, South Province, Zimbabwe, received £15 000 (about R324 000) from We Effect at the beginning of January, as part of the Transforming Zimbabwe’s Dairy Value Chain for the Future (TransZDVC) project.

The project aimed to improve the national dairy herd and milk production in Zimbabwe, AllAfrica reported.

The four-year project, which was launched in 2019, was being funded by the EU. The budget for the project as set in 2019, was €6,99 million (R126 million), of which the EU had undertaken to finance 90%. We Effect, through the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency, would provide the other 10%.

The Umzingwane Dairy Co-operative was only one of the beneficiaries of the project.

TransZDVC aimed to help farmers produce 130 million litres of milk a year, which was almost double that produced in 2020 (76 million litres), by addressing the root causes of underperformance among dairy producers in the country. According to the government, this would be achieved by strengthening the linkages between production, processing and financing. Sheillah Lupuwana, chairperson of the Umzingwane Dairy Co-operative Society, said the recent grant would go towards the installation of solar panels.

“We’ll also drill a borehole so that we move away from council water and huge bills that are hindering our progression.” Funds would also go towards the purchase of refrigerated trucks for the transporting of milk from milking points to the milk centre.

Some members of the co-operative had received individual grants, which had been used to sink boreholes. – Staff reporter

The Israeli minister of agriculture, Oded Forer, has described the recent outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in that country as an “infection event of a magnitude we have not experienced here before”, according to The Jerusalem Post.

This after about 21 000 cases of HPAI were reported among poultry in northern Israel in early January.

These included 7 400 infected chickens in Gadish, and 14 000 turkeys in Ne’ot Golan.

An HPAI outbreak in Margaliot at the end of December 2021 saw approximately 700 000 hens being culled.

“Each new hotspot is a warning sign that directs us to work to increase the biological safety of all chicken coops in Israel. Agriculture ministry employees work in an emergency format, with increased forces, and work day and night to handle every site to allow a return to routine as soon as possible,” Forer said.

In response to the recent outbreak, chicken eggs from Gadish were being withheld from the market, and the Israeli borders had been opened for the importation of eggs in anticipation of a shortage in local production.

The ministry had also increased the egg quota for farmers in the country.

As the virus was spread by migratory birds, it was difficult for HPAI to be contained adequately. Forer urged farmers to be vigilant and keep their birds away from wild birds as far as possible. They were also urged to follow government directives in this regard.

According to The Jerusalem Post, hundreds of thousands of wild birds migrated through Israel annually, resulting in the spread of the virus. – Staff reporter