Eswatini Dairy Board pushes dairy processing to cut US$23M import bill

ESWATINI – Eswatini Dairy Board (EDB) has urged more livestock farmers and entrepreneurs to enter the dairy processing industry, warning that the country continues to import most of the dairy products consumed locally.

Eswatini consumes about 84 million litres of milk and processed dairy products annually. Local production accounts for only about 21 million litres, leaving roughly 60 million litres to be imported.

The call was made during a week-long dairy products processing training hosted by EDB in collaboration with the Eswatini National Agricultural Union (ESNAU), and supported by the European Union (EU) and International Trade Centre (ITC).

The first group of farmers was trained in Manzini on how to process raw milk into marketable dairy products, including emasi, yoghurt, feta cheese, cheese, butter and ice cream.

The training combined theory and practical work, with participants learning about hygiene, temperature control, fermentation, curd formation, whey separation, brining, packaging, labelling, storage and transportation.

On the final day, participants were taught packaging, labelling, storage and transportation by EDB’s Sicheme Dlamini.

Farmers learnt that packaging is not just about appearance. It protects the product, extends shelf life and builds consumer trust.

They were taught to consider product type, storage conditions, transport needs, available materials, consumer preference, container size and marketing channels.

Labels must include the product name, production and expiry dates, manufacturer details, contact information, mass of contents and batch number for traceability.

EDB said it remains available to train more farmers and producers, but expressed concern that many people attend training while only a few go on to open dairy processing businesses.

Farmers were encouraged to seek funding from agricultural finance institutions, invest in livestock care, improve feeding systems and establish proper feedlots to produce more and better-quality milk.

ESNAU CEO Tammy Dlamini said the programme is part of efforts to develop farmers, especially in rural communities.

He said farmers had been identified, recruited and trained in stages to help them build commercial businesses, not just attend workshops.

Recently, the Minister of Agriculture Mandla Tshawuka described the dairy deficit as both an economic and food-security risk, noting that Eswatini currently operates only one milk processing plant, running at about 40% capacity due to insufficient raw milk supply.

“The Dairy Board must help close this gap,” Tshawuka said, outlining a strategy anchored on decentralised service delivery, food self-sufficiency and wealth creation.

Planned interventions include sourcing dairy cattle for local production, selling animals to farmers to expand herds, and supplying dairy cows to schools under a feeding programme aimed at improving child nutrition.

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