The portrayal of Africa in the general media can be very misleading in that it focuses on the 'bad news' and nobody hears much about the continent's successes. To find out what is really happening in Africa, International Dairy Topics recently visitedZambia and spent a day with Zambeef's Zam Milk dairy operation at Chisambe, which is some 50 or so kilometres north of the country's capital, Lusaka. Most people have an image of Zambia as a copper mining region with waste heaps dotted around the landscape. It is not! It is a beautiful country with a proud tradition in agriculture. For example, in 2004 Zambia was a net exporter of maize. In addition, the country is, in African terms, very economically stable and its agriculture sector is enjoying boomtimes with growth and expansion very much to the fore. Zambeef's dairy operation is the largest and, probably, the most progressive in Zambia with some 870 cows currently in milk with 1,200 followers. The aim is to take the milking herd past the 1,000 cows in the near future at an average of 26 litres per cow per day. In the month before our visit there were some 120 calvings.
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