The demand for fresh milk in mostly all developing countries encourages investment in dairy farming. Where in African countries the land tenure often takes the form of a lease, investors co-invest into the farming operations as well as being the leaseholder. For dairy farming as a complex and holistic agricultural system, know-how and specific expertise is key to the success of such investments. Bles Dairies is the technical partner for investors to provide all that essential know-how necessary throughout the process.
For an investment fund, Bles Dairies is their technical partner in dairy and beef projects. Since September 1st 2019, Bles Dairies manages the large scale dairy farm ‘Eswatini Dairy,’ in the Southern region of Africa, former Swaziland. The aim is to expand its herd and improve the farm management. Developments have been moving fast and so a lot has been achieved over the past half year, from increasing the pregnancy rate, to improving the cows’ body condition, land work – grass and maize –, purchasing good machinery, data collection, designing a modern barn for more shadow etc.
All these activities contribute in improving the dairy farm, with the goal to increase the herd from 500 to 1500 milking cows. In conclusion, a lot of work has already been done, but there is still much that needs to be done to turn this large scale dairy farm into a modern enterprise milking 1,500 cows.
