Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Lesotho National Dairy Board (LNDB) handed over 50 Friesian and Jersey cows amounting to M960 000 to farmers at Meraka, Khubetsoana on Wednesday. LNDB Chief Executive Officer (CEO),
Abiel Mashale stated that the hand over serves as the third act to their ongoing plan to assists farmers buy dairy cows from South Africa, another step to
attain the goal of growing the dairy industry. Mashale said that the first time they assisted farmers to buy 34 expecting dairy cows was in September 2019 and since
then, they decided to focus on buying those that have not yet given birth, which are cheaper and have a sustainable life expectancy. “Those that have already
given birth are costly and require evaluation of how many liters of milk they produce per day adding to the overall cost of each cow,” he said. These are ordered in larger capacity
by LNDB to subsidize with transport costs and other expenses that hinder farmers from individually enlarging their farms. “Our goal as LNDB is to help farmers
to buy these cows before they give birth to preserve their livelihood, when famers enquire about the cows before buying, the process costs double the amount of a mature dairy cow,” explained Mashale.
He furthered that they are not just helping farmers to buy cows but the main goal is to grow the dairy industry as a whole, “this includes veterinary services, production of farm feeds and milk processing.
” Mashale added that as LNDB they have been given a responsibility to see that dairy products are fit for human
consumption, therefore the board has introduced an office called Dairy Processing andQuality Control. He continued that their biggest challenge is finding people who can process milk
from the farmers and ensure its safety. LNDB board member Molatoli Phethelo said the LNDB decided to help farmers because they saw a need to expand dairy
supply in Lesotho looking at the number of dairy imports on annual basis. He added that since partnership started, a number of imported dairy products has
decreased because farmers are now able to provide adequate supply of milk in the country, to even export sour milk to South Africa. Phethelo pleaded with
the farmers to take good care of their dairy cows and emphasized on proper feeding. From Mamo Agri farm at Ha-Makhalanyane, a beneficiary Dr. Seth Pusetso Macheli thanked the LNDB for its role of being a
middleman and bringing them high quality breed of cows at an affordable price. “We are truly grateful for this initiative because through it, we are able to buy more
than one cow at affordable prices. It has been a struggle to take care of all the costs including permits”, said Macheli. LNDB is a state owned enterprise charged with serving and protecting the interests of local dairy farmers, it is currently focused on improving industry value chain.
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