Cheese factory to milk Mozambique

  1. Posted on Thursday 4 December 2008 - 15:35
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    Peter Griffiths AfricaNews reporter in Johannesburg, South Africa
    Mozambique's only dairy factory capable of producing cheese is set to revolutionise the dairy sector by providing a platform to drastically increase the amount of milk produced locally.
    On the Road, Mozambique. Whatever you do there is always an audience around. © Picture Your Life
    In May 2007, the president opened the county’s only cheese factory in Chimoio, near the border with Zimbabwe. Funds to construct the factory were made available by the Dutch government through the Private Sector Investment programme (PSI), which forms part of the Netherlands’ development cooperation budget. PSI was formerly known as PSOM.

    Bredan Evans, who runs the Gouda Gold Mozambique factory, said that the grant by PSI created the market for milk to be produced locally. Currently Mozambique, according to his estimates, imports at least 120,000 litres of milk per day. The factory can produce pasteurised milk too.

    “PSI made it possible to purchase equipment... on a commercial loan there just wasn’t enough milk available to make it viable as we’d need to process at least 3kl per day. The grant got the factory up earlier,” he said.

    Evans said that Land O’ Lakes Inc has stepped in, agreeing to fund $6-million, which would go towards providing at least 400 cows to local farmers, and the funds to facilitate sexed artificial insemination.

    “Delivery of impregnated cows would be in February 2009, and from then we could see 300 calves within a year,” said Evans.

    Local farmers would ideally get at least two cows, allowing them to provide one calf back to the programme to widen the farmer base, while keeping one to grow their capacity.

    Evans believes the factory has already had a positive impact on the local communities.

    “As we grow we need more inputs and we try support locals. The number of veterinary outlets, for example, has increased from two to five,” says Evens, and “by selling to us we can provide feed and drugs on credit.”

    However, Evans wants farmers to drink some of the milk too to encourage local consumption. Mozambique has of the lowest milk consumption per capita in the world at less than 5kg against the world average of about 79kg. Most of Europe consumes between 200 and 350kg.

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