Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Honourable Roza Fatch Mbilizi, MP, today met members of the Shire Highlands Milk Producers Association (SHMPA) at Naperi in Blantyre to discuss the development of the dairy industry and challenges affecting smallholder farmers.

During the engagement, Mbilizi called for the commercialisation of milk production to increase farmers’ incomes, strengthen the dairy value chain and boost foreign exchange earnings.

The Minister commended SHMPA for contributing 90 percent of the country’s milk production and urged farmers to strengthen cooperative structures and invest in value addition to maximise benefits from the industry.

She said the government was recruiting additional extension workers to provide technical support and help dairy farmers transition from traditional production to commercially viable enterprises.

Mbilizi also expressed concern over reports that some milk processors were buying milk at K800 per litre against the government-set farm-gate price of K1,000 per litre.

She asked SHMPA to provide detailed statistics to facilitate engagement with processors and address the reported non-compliance.

The Minister further called for investment in solar power and other alternative energy sources to minimise disruptions caused by frequent electricity outages, particularly at milk cooling centres and processing facilities.

Mbilizi reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting smallholder dairy farmers, promoting sustainable production and strengthening the sector’s contribution to national economic growth and foreign exchange generation.

SHMPA Chairman General Saini Kapito commended the Minister for engaging farmers and addressing concerns over milk pricing, saying fair returns were essential to sustaining dairy production.

Established in 1985, SHMPA has 14,200 dairy farmers and produces 112,000 litres of milk daily, representing approximately 90 percent of the country’s total milk production.