By JAMES KUNDA –

MORE  than 6,000 small-holder dairy farmers are expected to benefit from the US$2.5 million released by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to the Dairy Association of Zambia (DAZ).
The funds will help  to increase dairy production and improve the quality of milk produced locally to attract foreign buyers.
Zambia Dairy Association (DAZ) executive director Jeremiah Kasolo said the money would be used to empower small-holder farmers to increase production and improve the quality of their product.
He said the small-holder dairy farmers across the country would  benefit directly from the initiative while another 18,000 would indirectly gain from this project.
The WTO focuses on enhancing trade through increased production and improved product quality.
“Zambia still needs to improve milk production capacity as well as quality hence the grant which will be implemented over a period of three years starting in 2014,” he said.
Mr Kasolo said the target areas for this project were predominantly Southern, Lusaka and Central provinces.
He said the association has collaborated with several sections of the private sector that have pumped in significant investments towards the establishment of milk collection centres.
Mr Kasolo said Varun Beverages had already set up eight milk collection centres while Parmalat Zambia had also established five similar facilities in Namwala District.
The essence of these milk collection points is to link the dairy farmers to milk processors and promote market access.
Zambia’s dairy production capacity currently stands at 200 million litres per annum while milk consumption per capita is 20 litres per individual.