Milk production ‘too low’

Morogoro. Milk production and marketing puzzle continues to haunt the country as only 30 per cent of potentials are being utilised, while per capita milk consumption is a mere quarter of global standard of milk consumption.

In his presentation at the International Conference on climate change on Friday, a senior lecturer of animal science at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Dr George Msalya, said that in their study conducted last year they found that while the country has huge potentials for milk production it produces 2.3 billion litres of milk far below global standards.

According to Dr Msalya, the global milk production and consumption standard set by the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (Fao) is annual production of 9 billion litres and per capital consumption of 200 litres per person annually.

“We really need to go up to nine billion litres per year in order to catch up with FAO standards. Milk production and marketing face chronic problems of low output, compromised quality and dominance of informal market,” he said.

He also presented the performance of Sua graduates initiative to run milk production-company known as Shambani Graduate Ltd which has been facing problems, including reluctance of smallholder farmers to absorb skills and a haphazard marketing system with an unfair competition. “Our experience at Mgeta milk production project under Shambani Graduates Ltd has shown that smallholder farmers who were supported with a modern breed of goats from Norway have abandoned to supply goat milk, instead they are selling goats,” he said.

Contributing to the presentation, Sua lecturer of agricultural economics Dr Adam Akyoo, said the viable solution was to build a sound value chain in milk production under the support of major stakeholders, including the government.

Milk value chain according to researchers include activities of pastoralists, milk consumers, processors, distributors, traders, researchers and policymakers.