The Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade was seeking partners for separate five-year dairy projects in each of the African nations.
New Zealand’s development plans in Africa only account for about $31 million of the annual aid programme, and an Mfat spokesman said because of that small size it needed to find ways to achieve a greater impact.
“Agriculture and renewable energy are the New Zealand aid programme’s flagship priorities over the next four years and they are areas where New Zealand is recognised for its expertise and sustainable development outcomes in the nations we partner with on aid and development,” he said in an emailed statement.
“We have a reputation for high-quality dairy production and this has resulted in African countries such as Ethiopia and Zambia requesting specialist support to help develop their own dairy industries.”
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates Zambia produced about 88,500 tonnes of milk in 2012 at a value of $27.6 million in international commodity prices. By contrast, milk was Ethiopia’s most-produced commodity with 3.8 million tonnes produced worth $1.2 billion in international commodity prices.
The Zambian initiative was worth up to $5.5m would first scope and then implement a project to extend dairy services in the nation, with a view to building capacity of farmer-organised milk collection centres and strengthening ties to processors.
“The goal of this dairy extension services support initiative in Zambia is to improve the productivity and profitability of small holder farms by strengthening agricultural extension services in Zambia,” Mfat said in its request for proposals.
The tender for the Zambia programme closed in mid-February, and Mfat would put greater emphasis on a bidder’s technical experience in dairy practices attracting the greatest weighting, while value for money had the smallest weighting.
Separately, the government agency would open bidding for a $10m to $15m project in Ethiopia at the end of the month to provide support in building the capacity of local farmers in Africa’s second most populous nation.
Mfat hasn’t settled on what it wants in the Ethiopian project, though early scoping studies identified New Zealand investment and expertise could help ease constraints on the nation’s supply chain by improving the availability and affordability of animal feed and water, strengthening dairy extension services, and applying research and training, according to an advance notice on the upcoming tender.
