Special Cows for Kwara's Special Farms
By Tosin Omoniyi
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Over 700 special breed of cows are due in Kwara State this week to boost dairy food production by Zimbabwean white farmers
All is now set for the arrival of 750 of the world's largest brand of cows in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, this week .The giant cows known as 'Jersey cows' were imported from South Africa by the new Nigerian farmers in Ilorin otherwise known as Zimbabwean farmers.
Professor Gana Yisa, Kwara State commissioner for Agriculture, said that each cow would produce about 30 litres of milk per day.
Graham Hatty, the new head of the farmers, said the cows expected to arrive from April 25 would be the biggest species in the West African sub-region. When Newswatch visited the farm, it found that the pens have been constructed, close to the newly built dairy factory where the cows will be milked.
Hatty explained that the delay in the arrival of the cows was due to the vaccination they were receiving in South Africa. He added that the animals were being prepared so that they could adapt to the Nigerian environment, which he described as friendly and highly hygienic.
He pointed out that the new cows would not be allowed to mingle or cross breed with local ones to prevent them from contracting diseases.
Hatty said that production of milk, cheese, fresh milk, yoghurt, will start at the factory in two months time. Already, the test-running of the factory has been completed. The complex has a milking parlour, where the cows would be milked one by one into a 5,000 litre cooling tank. From there the milk would be taken to the pasteuriser for sterilisation through heating and then passed on to the homogeniser to ensure high quality. There are also the tubular plant that is meant to treat the milk further, the filling room and finally the conveyer, where the milk would be packed ready for consumption.
Yisa, said the concern of the state government was to provide a suitable environment for the farmers' operation and not to procure equipment or run the factory. "It is not the state that is responsible for the running of the factory. But we promised to make available an enabling environment. It will cost us about two billion Naira to irrigate the place," he said.
The importation of the cows is the latest development in the four year sojourn of the Zimbabwean farmers who have settled down and decided to make Nigeria their home. The farmers told Newswatch that they do not intend to return to Zimbabwe. Rather, they insisted that they would contract their farms there to managers. "We can't go back, this is our home now," one of them said.
Hatty believes that the farmers were not wanted back in Zimbabwe. "They took everything away from us; who can live in a country like that, we are grateful that we are allowed here and we promise to do it to the best of our ability," he said.
Hatti's wife believes that Nigeria has a perfect climate and good rainfall for commercial farming. All the country needs, according to her, is about 40,000 mechanised farmers with proper funding and conducive environment. "Nigeria will be fantastic and can feed the whole of Africa," she said. About 300 hectares of grains and cassava are ready for harvesting this year at Shongai
She said that Nigeria could effectively compete with California in the area of agriculture with the natural and material resources at its disposal. One of the major challenges facing the farmers on the Shongai farm is lack of water, which does not make crops to grow and yield as they should. Again banks do not grant the farmers' request as quickly as they wish. "It is a whole lot of challenge getting the banks to give in to our demands," she said.
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