BY GARY GERALD MTOMBENI AND TANYARADZWA NHARI NESTLE Zimbabwe says its dairy empowerment scheme in Mashonaland East was paying dividends, with beneficiaries increasing their deliveries to the company.
The Nestle Dairy Empowerment Scheme (NDES) introduced in 2011 supports small scale and out growing dairy farmers with dairy heifers, milking cows, and equipment to boost milk production.
“Small scale farmer development has been accomplished using a hub and spoke strategy in which we anchor small scale farmers/out growers around an anchor farmer where we create a milk collecting facility,” Luke Gomes, Nestle Zimbabwe managing director said recently at an event to commemorate the World Milk Day.
“We tested this approach seven years ago with our first small scale farmer network in Chitomborwizi where we anchored 21 small scale farmers around a major commercial farmer. We helped the network by importing 100 in calf dairy cows, which were subsequently dispersed to small-scale farmers.”
Mashonaland East minister of State for Provincial Affairs Aplonia Munzverengwi said the dairy industry contributed to food security and nutrition.
“I am happy that Nestle Zimbabwe has taken up this challenge of public sector partnership through their Nestle dairy empowerment scheme which is supporting farmers in particular small scale farmers since 2015,” Munzverengwi said.
World Milk Day is an international day established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to recognize the importance of milk as a global food.
It has been observed on June 1 each year since 2001.
