HARARE: Zimbabwe is set to record an eight percent increase in milk production this year, a development expected to bring good tidings to the dairy industry.
Speaking during the official launch of Alpha Omega Dairy’s new ice cream last Friday, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made, said government is importing heifers with a view to increasing milk production.
Alpha Omega Dairy is owned by the First Family and is in Mazowe. “As the government we support the importation of heifers to increase milk production, which will see an increase of milk in 2015 and 2016 compared to previous years,” he said.
Minister Made said the country was producing 55 million litres of milk per year which was far below the required 120 million litres. The country has 33,000 heifers.
Speaking during the same event, Alpha Omega Group general manager Stanley Nhari, said the company continued to grow despite challenges brought by the economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West. “The company has been receiving local and international negative publicity and this closed lines of credit.The good news is that the company managed to turn threats and challenges into opportunities,” he said.
Mashonaland Central provincial minister Cde Martin Dinha, said the First Family, as beneficiaries of the land reform programme, was leading by example as shown by increased production at Alpha and Omega Dairy. The dairy is one of the three big dairy producers in Zimbabwe and has introduced 11 brands since it was launched a few years ago.
The company has state-of-the-art machinery and maintains high hygiene standards. Alpha Omega Dairy was presented with the ISO 22000 of 2005 certification by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe at the same occasion.
The certificate was in recognition of the company’s investment in research and innovation to deliver high quality and nutritious products that meet consumers’ expectations.
