Dairy Farming in Zambia

Wayne Schoper, Brown/Nicollet Extension Educator

October 11, 2008

The continent of Africa has had a long history of human habitation.  However, over the years, many problems have developed in Africa as a whole and in certain countries within the continent with over-population and the ability to feed the people who live there. Numerous stories over the years have discussed famines and droughts that have affected millions, caused mass migrations to refugee camps and led to the deaths of many people.

In 1994 in the country of Uganda, Land O’Lakes started the first private sector dairy development program in Africa.  Since then, project activities across the continent have broadened to include agricultural market development, commodity groups and access to financing. However, the development of the dairy sector has proven to be a powerful means to decrease hunger and increase the food security of the region while encouraging private enterprise and economic stability. An additional benefit has been the introduction of dairy products into the diets of people who desperately need good quality, secure food sources in their daily lives.

I have had the opportunity to work on several Land O’Lakes sponsored international dairy projects in four countries in Africa. Those countries are Zambia, Malawi, South Africa and Egypt. In June 2005, I worked on a project in Zambia and was invited back to continue on the project in April 2007.  My colleague, Tim Dolan, extension educator in Sibley County, has also worked on the same project with trips in August 2006 and returning with me in April 2007. He returned there again in November 2007.

There are 54 countries in Africa.  Zambia is located in the south-central part of the continent.  It was known as Northern Rhodesia until 1964 when they gained their independence from England.  Zambia’s economy has traditionally been dominated by the copper mining industry.  However, in recent years the country has been sliding into a poverty situation from which it has not recovered. Currently, the average per capita income is $395 per year putting Zambia near the bottom in rank as the world’s poorest country with 86% of the population living below the poverty line.  Zambia has a major health issue with HIV/AIDS. Life expectancy in the country is only 38 years. Families are large, typically 8 children, but half of the children die before they reach age of 5 years.  Poor nutrition is a large cause of this.  So the dairy project that Tim and I worked on has major implications related to family nutrition and economic stability.

A typical Zambian farm has many different animals from sheep to chickens to dairy cows. The land associated with the farm is usually just a few acres that can support crops such as pigeon peas, grass hay, corn, and a family garden. The dairy cows were introduced a few years ago by Land O’Lakes and the Zambian government in an effort to reach the aforementioned goals. Our job as educators was to discuss all aspects of dairy cattle management and introduce such concepts as good record keeping and financial management techniques. We held a series of meetings, both with farmers and the people who worked with farmers. Zambia actually has a network of people, called “camp officers,” who work with the people in small villages who live off of the land.  Their job is to take pertinent information and distribute it to area farmers, similar to our extension mission here in the United States. The meetings were often held under a large “gathering” tree located in a central location of the area. The meeting announcement would go out via a series of loud calls and within just a few minutes, people would start gathering together to see and hear what we had to say. The meetings would last for an hour with 50 to 75 people in attendance.  A question and answer period followed.  The last item on the agenda would be a short presentation by the local HIV/AIDS educator, usually a person from the local community, who would give a strong presentation on AIDS prevention. After the meeting, we would usually be invited to a local farmer’s house for a meal. It was quite interesting and humbling to eat with people who were sharing food produced right on their farm. They did not have a lot, but they were very willing to share what they had with their American visitors.

Our work in Africa was one part of a larger project whose main goal is to feed the hungry and help people gain the knowledge and power necessary to take care of themselves and their families.  A lot has been accomplished with this private sector dairy development program in Africa but much remains to be done.