Zambeef invests KS5.4 million in new dairy facilities

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Happy cows mean better milk – that’s the philosophy of the country’s largest food producer, Zambeef.

Hence the company is planning to spend around K5.4 million on state-of-the art barns to house the expanding herd of dairy cows on its Kalundu Farm in Chisamba.

The five cowsheds will each hold up to 300 animals, enabling Zambeef to almost double its current milking herd of 800 animals to around 1,500 cows.

Each barn will feature a state-of-the-art feeding system, ventilation and a manure management set-up, enabling better quality breeding, animal husbandry and milking.

“It is well recognised that happy cows produce more and better milk,” said Zambeef Head of Corporate and Public Affairs Felix Lupindula.

“The expansion of Zambeef’s dairy farm will enable Zambeef to improve the quality of its milking herd, which will be good for consumers, create more jobs, generate more tax and help grow the country’s economy.”

Details of the proposed construction project and its impact have been set out in a 146-page environmental impact assessment presented to the Zambia Environmental Agency (ZEMA).

The new barns will help the farm to increase its milk production from 20,000 litres a day to around 37,500 litres a day, supplying fresh milk to Zambeef’s new ZamMilk dairy processing plant.

That milk processing plant, opened by Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Hon. Emmanuel Chenda in November, trebled Zambeef’s milk processing capacity to around 100,000 litres a day, using raw milk supplied by Kalundu Dairy Farm and small-scale dairy farmers in the surrounding area.

The fresh milk is processed into ZamMilk pasteurised full-cream milk, semi-skimmed milk, butter, cheese and ZamSip drinking yoghurt.

In addition to improving the quality and quantity of milk production and improving efficiency, the dairy farm expansion is set to generate additional employment in the local area, and have a knock-on effect in terms of additional tax paid to the government and local councils.