By Andrew Mwanandiye Tembo
There are high expectations that Dairy Farmers in the country will now be experiencing more benefits.
This follows the mentorship conference the farmers had undergone through African Jersey Forum on Wednesday in Blantyre.
The conference under funding of Jersey Overseas Aid(JOA) from the government of Jersey Island ,through Shire Highlands Milk Producers Association (Shmpa) and luanar here in Malawi is aiming at empowering Dairy farmers to ultilise Jersey cattle breed for sufficient income for living amid the country’s dwindled economy.
Speaking during the conference, the Government of Jersey’s Minister of International Development who is also the president for Royal Jersey Agricultural,Horticultural Society in Jersey island Carolyn Labey said has seen some good potential in Jersey cattle breed and that can benefit Malawi hence the conference.
She said “According to the feedback from Dairy farmers in Malawi, I can see that jersey castle breeding can efficiently save Malawi ,since Jersey breed withstand hot climates and are not prone to diseases.”
She further disclosed that their government’s pleasure to continue mentoring and supporting Malawi with the breeding needs as per Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources(Luanar)research findings conducted for jersey breeding.
On his welcoming note, Dr Bettie Kawonga,a Lecturer at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) on the same,expressed her gratitude indicating that LUANAR will continue to promote the Jersey breed through training on Jersey cattle breeding, feeding and general husbandry as well as disseminating research findings aimed at increasing the productivity of the Jersey whilst reducing its carbon footprint.
“Apart from the BSc programs that we have at LUANAR, we have a Dairy Diploma Program which focuses on training technicians that will support the Malawi Dairy sector in dairy production and processing. Our goal is to have well trained technicians in Dairy Production and Dairy Processing and Technology to contribute to the countries vision of Malawi becoming a nation that is self-sufficient in safe locally produced livestock and livestock products.
“Our breeding efforts will focus on promoting existing breeds such as the Jersey through reproductive technologies such as Artificial Insemination ( AI) and embryo transfer,” said Kawonga.
In his comment,host organizer who is also the Chairperson for Shire Highlands Milk Producers Association, in Malawi(Shmpa) Saini Kapito said the conference has been effective since has equipped them with extra knowledge on the breeding.
Jersey Island, started its empowering work with Malawi over 50 years ago and Shire High Lands Milk Producers Association (Shmpa) around 1999 and almost mere 30 percent of Malawi’s economy is accessed from Dairy Agriculture,thus according to research conducted by Luarnar ,in Malawi.
