Dowa farmers receive 69 dairy cows from NCA/DCA

Farmers under Mbalame dairy Cooperative in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Mkukula in Dowa district have received 69 dairy cows, thanks to Norwegian Church Aid/DanChurch Aid (NCA/DCA) Country Joint Programme, which has made the donation possible through The Sustainable Food Systems for Rural Agriculture Transformation and Resilience (TRANSFORM) program.

NCA/DCA Malawi Joint Country Programme’s Acting Country Director and Head of Finance and Procurement, Bemnet Olango, says dairy farming is among the value chains of focus within the TRANSFORM program, hence the donation.

“NCA/DCA prioritized supporting the Mbalame dairy cooperative to boost its milk production, increase incomes of the dairy farmers, and linking them to markets, ultimately contributing to improved profitable market access and entrepreneurship opportunities of the cooperative,” says Olango.

“There is a growing demand for dairy products in Malawi driven by population growth, rising incomes, and urbanization. Dairy cattle are key sources for milk, consumed fresh or processed into various dairy products such as yogurt, cheese, and butter,” says Olango.

The move by NCA/DCA will boost the rate at which central region districts supply milk at the dairy market, which is at less than 5 percent as of now.

Currently, big milk processing companies like Lilongwe Dairy and Malawi Dairy Industry (MDI) are collecting 95% of their milk in the southern region of the country.

According to Olango, NCA/DCA is enhancing the marketing capacity of 80 Farmer Organizations (FOs) and Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) serving smallholder farmers to strengthen governance and management skills, in the end, enhancing their capacity to run various businesses and make profits in return.

Meanwhile, TRANSFORM project implementer for Dowa district, Trustees of Agricultural Promotion Program (TAPP), has hailed NCA/DCA for the initiative, saying it transforms lives of people there.

TAPP’s Head of Programs, Brown Chitekwere, has since advised the beneficiaries to follow prescribed instructions on how the cows will be rotating from family to family.

“The main advice is that they should take care of the cows and then follow rules we have set aside because these cows are under pass-on where we want that once they reproduce, the farmers should be able to give others,” says Chitekwere.

On the other hand, Pretorious Msonthi, who is chairperson for Mbalame Dairy Cooperative, has assured authorities that they will make sure that NCA/DCA goals are realized through them.

“We want our cooperative to move from mere milk supplier to dairy products producers, and we believe this will come to pass,”

The group has been supported with a total of K84,200,00.00 specifically: a backup genset and installations support worth K22,000,000; 69 dairy cows worth over K54,000,000; and 2 drug boxes worth K7,000,000 among other things.

Dowa Acting Chief Agriculture Officer, Albert Kaputa, said the government through their office will continue rendering support towards the cooperative for a better district and a better Malawi.

Mbalame Dairy Cooperative which started in 2017 has 290 members and 249 cattle currently.

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