Farmers threaten to dump milk on streets…As diesel shortage hits them hard

WRITTEN BY THOM KHANJE
BNLTIMES

Some milk farmers from around Blantyre and Lilongwe cities have threatened to throw rotten milk on the streets of the two cities by Friday this week if government does not do anything to address the shortage of diesel in the country which has forced processors to scale down collection of milk of bulking groups.

Malawi Milk Producers Association of Malawi (MMPA) programme manager Herbert Chagona confirmed in an interview yesterday that some bulk groups near Blantyre and Lilongwe have informed his association that they plan to stage a protest over the shortage of diesel in the country.

“Our bulking group members have been greatly affected by the shortage of diesel. Since last week, they are unable to collect milk from farmers because they can’t find diesel to operate their coolers. And the processors are also unable to buy milk from them because there is no diesel for their tankers,” said Chagona.

He said as a result, thousands of litres of milk was getting rotten at farmers home and collection centres, causing huge financial losses among farmers and the bulking groups.

He said some of the groups have decided to vent their anger on the government and arranging to take the rotten milk to the centres of Blantyre and Lilongwe cities where they will dump it on the streets as a sign of protest.

Chairman of Dowa-based Namwili Bulking Group Sydney Chazunda told Business Times yesterday that members of his group are worried following a visit made by MDI over the weekend who told them they will no longer be able to collect milk from them until the diesel shortage improves.

He said his group collects over 440 litres of milk everyday from its 34 members which they sell to MDI after every three days at K68 per litre.

“What the non-collection of milk by MDI means is that our members are not earning any income because the milk we produce is just too much and cannot be consumed locally. But the farmers are still incurring costs because they still have to milk the cows because if they don’t, their udders will get swollen,” said Chazunda.

MDI general manager Kondwani Kaonga confirmed in a separate interview that his company has scaled down collection of milk from bulking groups because it cannot find enough diesel to dispatch its tankers as usual.

“We are collecting just a fraction of what we usually collect because we can’t find enough diesel,” said Kaonga.

Chagona said the situation was the same with all other processors who buy milk from MMPA members.

MMPA has a membership of 15,000 farmers organised in 45 bulking groups who collectively produce about 90,000 litres of milk per day.