Micro Bankers Trust empowers women dairy farmers

By Ann Zulu

WOMEN in dairy farming should be supported, as they are an important component in the dairy industry, Micro Bankers Trust Chief Executive Officer Grace Nkuwa has said.

Ms Nkuwa observed that women in dairy farming were not fully supported, yet they were key players in the dairy industry.

“Women play a huge role in the dairy industry unlike men, but most of them lack support, they don’t have equipment to process their milk,” Ms. Nkuwa said.

She noted that dairy farming had the potential of alleviating poverty which had a feminine face.

Ms Nkuwa said if more women were empowered and encouraged to venture into the dairy industry, they would be able to stand on their own and send their children to school.

“The dairy industry has the potential for wealth creation. If women tried to venture into this industry, they would be able to send their children to school and alleviate the alarming levels of poverty in the country,” she said.

Ms. Nkuwa indicated that it was for this reason that the Micro Bankers Trust was giving loans to women engaged in dairy farming.

She said the loans were given simply to assist the women access basic equipment they would need to process the milk.

“In order to empower women we are giving them loans to assist them with the basic things that they need to process their milk,” she said.

Ms. Nkuwa also reiterated the need to educate women on dairy farming, saying that most women lacked information.

“If the women were not given adequate information, the industry might not boom, because women being key players, the nation stands to lose out to other competitors who may come on board with better quality milk,” she said.