BY PHESHEYA KUNENE - EDITOR
MANZINI – Eswatini’s dairy industry is under strain long before disease enters the picture.
The country produces about 20 million litres of milk annually, against an estimated national demand of 84 million litres, leaving a deficit of more than 60 million litres that is largely met through imports. The imbalance has left local processors under-supplied, farmers operating below potential and the country increasingly dependent on external markets for a basic nutritional staple.
It is against this backdrop of structural weakness — not just the current Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak — that the Eswatini Dairy Board is pressing ahead with farmer training, positioning knowledge and compliance as critical tools for rebuilding domestic production and reducing import reliance.
Despite heightened animal-health controls across the region, the Board is rolling out an eight-week Dairy Cattle Farming Course, arguing that pausing skills development would only deepen the sector’s long-standing productivity gap.
“Disease pressure exposes weaknesses that already exist,” said Course Coordinator Bandile Mdluli. “If farmers are not technically equipped, compliant and business-ready, the industry cannot grow — with or without FMD.”
Training in a Constrained Industry
The course will commence on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at the Dairy Board Conference Room at Enguleni House, Manzini. Sessions will run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5:30pm to 7:00pm, with a participation fee of E500 per person.
Structured around ten core modules, the programme covers dairy science and management, fodder production, feeding systems, breeding, calf rearing, clean milk production, disease prevention and control, and business planning. Practical sessions and an educational tour are included to ensure that learning translates into on-farm application.
While disease prevention is a major focus, the training is equally designed to address low productivity, poor herd management and weak business planning — all factors that have limited Eswatini’s ability to supply its own milk market.
FMD as a Stress Test, Not the Root Problem
FMD, a highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals, has intensified pressure on dairy producers through stricter biosecurity requirements and livestock movement controls across Eswatini, South Africa and Mozambique. But industry actors caution that the outbreak is testing a sector already struggling to scale.
“FMD has not created the milk deficit,” Mdluli said. “It has simply exposed how vulnerable the system is when production levels are low and compliance knowledge is uneven.”
He stressed that trade does not stop during outbreaks, but becomes more regulated.
“Imports and exports can still happen under calculated movement and strict veterinary compliance. Farmers need to understand these systems if they want to remain active participants in the market.”
National Strategy to Close the Milk Gap
The training drive aligns with government’s renewed push to revive the dairy sector following the unveiling of the newly reconstituted Eswatini Dairy Board by the Ministry of Agriculture.
At the launch, 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.
“If farmers are confident that their milk will be processed and absorbed by the market, they will produce more,” the Minister said.
Farmers Feel the Pressure
For producers, the combination of disease controls, rising input costs and low margins has made technical competence non-negotiable.
Sidvokodvo-based dairy farmer Samkelo Dlamini said operating in the current environment required more than experience.
“Dairy farming is capital-intensive. You cannot afford mistakes,” he said. “When disease strikes, ignorance becomes the biggest risk. Training helps farmers protect their herds, comply with movement rules and continue supplying the market legally.”
He added that improved knowledge also strengthens farmer confidence in a sector many young producers view as high-risk.
Knowledge as an Import-Substitution Tool
Beyond immediate disease management, the Dairy Board sees training as part of a longer-term effort to rebuild domestic capacity and reduce dependence on imported milk.
“Our objective is not just to survive FMD,” Mdluli said. “It is to build a compliant, productive and profitable dairy sector that can meet local demand. Every skilled farmer brings the country closer to that goal.”
Registration for the Dairy Cattle Farming Course is open at the Eswatini Dairy Board offices. Enquiries can be directed to Bandile Mdluli (7662 4422) or the Board offices on 2505 8623.
As Eswatini grapples with a widening milk deficit and external disease pressures, the message from the Dairy Board is clear: closing the production gap begins on the farm, with knowledge, discipline and long-term investment — not delay.
