Milk industry has potential to secure the much needed economic empowerment -DAZ

The Dairy Association of Zambia (DAZ) says the newly launched  three (3) year strategy plan will see the participation of about 5000 small-scale farmers in the dairy industry by 2016.

DAZ Executive Manager Jeremiah Kasalo says currently the number of dairy small-scale farmers stood at about 3,400 of which this is not equivalent to the massive potential the industry presented.

Mr Kasalo told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka over the weekend that the milk industry has potential to secure the much needed economic empowerment of individuals because of its annual production capacity of about 200 million liters.

He however disclosed that the country only formally processes about 48 million litres annually with about 12 million litres having already passed through the processing channels so far this year.

And Mr. Kasalo has called on government to waive or reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) on milk products and equipment to facilitate sustainable growth for the dairy sector.

He said milk production in the country was on the rise and government must consider providing incentives in the sector to secure development for the country and uplift the living standards of people.

The Dairy Association of Zambia (DAZ) last week launched a three (3) year strategic plan aimed at among other things to increase the participation of smallholders in dairy production and also to ensure the financial sustainability of DAZ.

Other objectives include, to actively involve the Ministry in jointly developing the dairy subsector, to increase small holder production and productivity for the formal market, to stimulate increased domestic consumption of milk and other dairy products, and to improve the price competitiveness of Zambia raw milk and dairy products in the region.