Milk-and-Dairy-Products-in-Human-Nutrition-FAO

326
Milk and dairy products in human nutrition
Box 8.3 (continued)
Kabiyet Dairies is only one agricultural success story among many. Brazil, by investing
heavily in research, has turned itself into the first tropical farm giant, joining the ranks of
the temperate-food superpowers such as America, Europe and Canada. It did so in a single
generation, thanks mainly to big commercial farms. Viet Nam, through policy changes (especially
freeing up small-scale private agriculture), turned itself from one of the world’s largest
importers of rice into the world’s second-largest exporter.
So it is possible to grow more food, more efficiently, on both a regional and a national
scale. But can it be done on a global scale, which is what is needed to feed 9 billion people
If so, how
*Kabiyet Dairies is one of 68 farmer-owned milk bulking businesses being set up with support from the EADD project funded by the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The ten-year project aims to double the dairy income of 589 000 farming families – approximately
3.2 million people. Kabiyet Dairies was established in Kenya in August 2009 and presently has 2 802 smallholder farming family
shareholders who delivered 837 079 litres of milk in December 2010. In the same month the company made gross and net profits of
19 percent and 17 percent respectively on a turnover of US$ 368 134. Farmers received US$ 296 686 in total, equivalent to US$ 3.42
per farming family.
Source: Parker, 2011.
that yields in Kenya could increase by 25 percent if all women farmers attended
primary school (IFPRI, 2005). Key recommendations include legislative reform
to create equal access to resources, and the use of women’s groups to support less
educated people or those hesitant in speaking out due to cultural reasons.
Education, training and information networks characterized dairy development
projects in the last half century. Candler and Kumar (1998) write that India’s
“Operation Flood can be seen as a major demand side educational project”. Women
with dairy earnings were able to refuse coolie work, stay home and allow their girls
and boys to attend school. India now hosts 11 dairy science colleges, 31 veterinary
colleges and over 80 agricultural universities (Mathur, 2000). In Afghanistan,
FAO (2012) highlights training in animal husbandry, health and livelihood issues,
leadership skills, policy issues, management and accounting.
FAO assisted Mongolia in establishing a National Dairy Training Centre,
attached to the National Food Technology Institute for cost efficiency and sustainability.
The Centre provides vocational short courses and outreach training
modules on the entire dairy chain, including training for trainers. The FAO Action
Programme for the Prevention of Food Losses has also shown that training farmers,
farmer groups, small-scale traders and informal market agents in hygiene and food
safety would improve milk quality and reduce losses.
Up-to-date information systems are needed to provide relevant data on national
dairy industries, and information on available technology and training (FAO, 2005a;
see also Chapter 6). FAO has a unique global perspective on this and needs to
enhance its leadership and expand its capacity in providing both relevant technical
information and strategic/policy advice to government and the private sector on
sustainable dairy-industry development.