DAPP Mzatonse Farmers Cooperative grows big

Mzatonse farmers cooperative in Chikhwawa is poised to be among the biggest milk suppliers in Chikhwawa and beyond.
What started like a small business group, with 20 members Mzatonse Farmers Cooperative enjoys membership of more than 200 farmers with Kasinthula Centre which has 121 members and Thabwa Centre enjoying membership of more than 90 farmers.
The cooperative which owns a Vita-goat Processing Plant, processes high quality milk from soya beans which is sold to the communities around.
“We sometimes make sales of up to MK150,000 per week and we believe it is because of these promising sales that we see our membership growing.”
With support from Development Aid from People to People (DAPP), women farmers from various farmer clubs in Chikhwawa district established the cooperative so as to maximise their earnings in addition to their farm produce sales.
Brown claims the establishment of the cooperative has increased access to milk for Chikhwawa families which were not able to get the much needed stuff.
With financial support from UK Aid, through the Department for International Development (DfID), DAPP is implementing a three year Farmer Clubs project in Chikhwawa and it is farmers from these clubs that are running the cooperative.