Dairy hubs for delivery of technical and advisory services: Lessons from the East Africa Dairy Development project

The vision of the East Africa Dairy Development project is to transform the lives of 179,000 smallholder farming families (approximately 1 million people) by doubling their household dairy income in 10 years.

To achieve this goal, the project seeks to harness information to support decision making and innovation, expand smallholder dairy farmers' access to markets for their milk, and increase farm productivity and economies of scale.

The project uses a hub approach to improve dairy farmers' access to business services, inputs and markets. The dairy hubs facilitate the emergence and strengthening of networks of input and service providers as well as the establishment of mechanisms for farmers to access credit.

On 5-7 December 2012, Jo Cadilhon, agricultural economist with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), attended a stakeholder workshop on the role of the public and private sectors in the delivery of livestock services in Africa. He presented the concept of dairy hubs for delivery of advisory and technical services to smallholder dairy production systems, based on the experiences of the East Africa Dairy Development project.

Below is the presentation:

    

Delivery of advisory and technical services for dairy smallholder production systems: The concept of dairy hubs from ILRI

ILRI study characterizes Somali chilled export meat value chain

Batch of young goats for slaughter and export of chilled meat, Hargeisa Market, Somaliland (photo credit: Terra Nuova).

Export-oriented pastoral livestock production is an important source of livelihood of the people of Somalia. The country is largely food deficient, with imports forming a significant proportion of basic food requirements and which are largely financed through earnings from exports of live animals and meat.

The export of meat products offers more avenues for increased earnings and tax revenue by exploiting the available opportunities for domestic value addition, than does live animal trade.

A collaborative research study by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Terra Nuova characterized the Somali chilled export meat value chain in terms of actors, institutions and practices and provided an initial analysis of their profitability in handling four species of livestock.

The main objective of the study was to provide information that would enable development of strategies to improve the efficiency of the Somali chilled meat export value chain as a way of increasing incomes to market actors.

The study presents preliminary recommendations for public and private sectors. These focus on value addition and information sharing on what constitutes value, building of product identity and legally protecting its unique status, and coordination to address costs.

Download the research report

Citation
Negassa A, Baker D, Mugunieri L, Costagli R, Wanyoike F, Abdulle MH and Omore A. 2012. The Somali chilled meat value chain: Structure, operation, profitability and opportunities to improve the competitiveness of Somalia’s chilled meat export trade. ILRI Research Report 32. ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi.

Good livestock management by all value chain actors can improve quality in the Ethiopian leather industry

Jo Cadilhon (left) recently joined the International Livestock Research Institute as an agricultural economist with the Changing Demand and Market Institutions team. From 6-9 November 2012, he was among several scientists and other agricultural stakeholders who took part in an international conference organized by CTA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the theme “Making the connection: Value chains for transforming smallholder agriculture”. He facilitated a session on capacity building in value chains and later during one of the conference field trips learned about an important value chain for livestock by-products: the Ethiopian leather industry. Below is his report.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) was a partner organizer of the CTA conference on Making the connection: value chains for transforming smallholder agriculture held from 6 to 9 November 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

One of the conference field trips organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) focused on leather products so I joined it to discover this value chain for livestock by-products.

I learned that good management practices by all stakeholders in the chain are just as critical for the quality improvement of livestock by-products as it is for the quality and safety of food products derived from livestock.

Take the example of the leather industry in Ethiopia. Although selling animal hides for leather production is only a by-product for livestock producers, the local tanning industry can process up to 30,000 skins per day, producing leather for shoes and garments and creating significant employment, according to the Leather Industry Development Institute.

Cattle being watered at the Ghibe River in southwestern Ethiopia. Simple improvements in the practices of livestock value chain stakeholders, such as avoiding inflicting wounds on the skin of cattle during herding, could help improve the quality of Ethiopian leather goods. (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann).

Crucially, simple improvements in herding, slaughtering, skinning and marketing practices in livestock value chains could help improve the quality of finished leather goods and thus increase the incomes for all value chain stakeholders.

For example, men’s shoes are cut out of cow skins. The various components of the shoes are cut from different areas of the skin: the shoulder and butt being stronger and of better quality than the skin from the belly and legs.

The job of the leather cutter is to optimize the number of shoe parts that can be cut out of one hide. If there are holes in the hide due to putrefaction of the skin before tanning, this decreases the number of shoe parts that can be cut out of one hide.

These holes are due to infected wounds in the skin. These wounds are usually inflicted on the animal during herding, slaughtering and skinning of the slaughtered animal.

Furthermore, there are usually several days before a hide reaches the tannery from the slaughterhouse through a very long chain of intermediary traders whereas the optimal time to preserve the quality of animal hides before tanning is just 24 hours.

This long time lag increases the likelihood of putrefaction of any wounds on the hides, thus decreasing the quality of the leather.

One indicator of leather quality is the homogeneity of the leather’s surface. When the live animal has been sick or infected by parasites scars and spots can appear on the skin, which then lead to stains and scars on the tanned leather.

The leather cutters and cobblers then have to work around these defects for fear of seeing the price of the final product depreciated.

Quality improvement in the Ethiopian livestock and leather industry is supported by ILRI,  the Italian Development Cooperation, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), UNIDO and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through linkages with the Leather Industry Development Institute.

New research project aims to improve smallholder livestock production and marketing in Botswana

Goats awaiting sale at a market in Botswana. A new collaborative research project aims to improve smallholder livestock production and marketing in Botswana (photo credit: ILRI).

The smallholder sector produces most of Botswana’s meat and over 70% of the country’s agricultural gross domestic product.

Although past policy and research have focused on the beef export sector, rather little information has been generated on the circumstances and potential of the 80,000 smallholders who own most of the country’s cattle, and the 100,000 households that earn livelihoods from sheep and goats.

This leaves strategies and investments for rural development and livelihood generation without a basis in data and analysis.

For both cattle and small ruminants, more competitive smallholder systems can improve livelihoods.

Several factors constrain the production and marketing of surpluses by smallholders: poor animal health is one example, that is often made worse by the complexities of communal grazing, and by limited access to services.

A new 3-year research project, Competitive smallholder livestock in Botswana, asks the following questions, and engages partners in research industry and government to help answer them:

• What are the characteristics of smallholder livestock producers in Botswana and what factors constrain their livelihoods?
• How can livestock-related marketing systems in Botswana be improved for the benefit of smallholders and the rural population?

The project has three objectives:

• To better define smallholder livestock production systems and to identify the factors affecting the productivity of smallholder livestock producers and assess their competitiveness 
• To understand and improve conditions for market participation and value addition in markets for livestock, livestock products and inputs
• To strengthen the capacity of agricultural education and extension

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is collaborating in this project with the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis and the Botswana Ministry of Agriculture.

The outcomes from the study will be improved and more sustainable livelihoods among smallholder livestock keepers, and increased uptake and use of scientific and economic knowledge by those providing services to smallholders.

The project is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and runs from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2015.

For more information, please contact Sirak Bahta (s.bahta @ cgiar.org)

ILRI presents at the 19th World Meat Congress

On 4-6 June 2012, over 300 participants gathered at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, France for the 19th World Meat Congress. The theme of the congress was 'Proudly producing and trading meat'.

Agricultural economist Derek Baker represented the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) at the meeting and delivered a presentation titled 'Livestock farming in developing countries: An essential resource'.

Baker is the leader of ILRI's Changing Demand and Market Institutions research team.

Livestock farming in developing countries: An essential resource

View more presentations from ILRI

ILRI project offers solutions for improving smallholder pig production in western Kenya

A smallholder pig farmer in western Kenya: Findings from an ILRI-led study  will help to improve feeding practices and  sow productivity on smallholder pig farms in western Kenya (photo credit: ILRI).

Small-scale pig farming in western Kenya is an important source of family income. Pigs kept are of local breeds that are either tethered or left free to scavenge for food. However, one of the main challenges that pig farmers in western Kenya face is inadequate feed supply.

From 2007 to 2009, a collaborative project led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) carried out research towards improving pig production and health in smallholder farms in western Kenya.

The project has recently published two journal articles, one featuring a descriptive study of smallholder pig feeding practices (Tropical Animal Health and Production, January 2012) and the other highlighting the results of a baseline study on the productivity of local sows (African Journal of Agricultural Research, December 2011).

The findings of the descriptive study of 164 pig farms in Busia District revealed the need for more research on the nutrient composition of the identified local feeds. Additionally, there is need to develop and validate simple combinations of local feeds to formulate balanced feed rations that smallholder farmers can afford.

The baseline study, which was carried out in Busia and Kakamega Districts, assessed the reproductive performance of local sows, investigated the challenges faced by the farmers, and explored opportunities for improving small-scale production of breeding pigs. The baseline data will be useful in identifying key intervention areas and exploring opportunities for improvement in the sector.

The project was undertaken in partnership with the University of Guelph, the University of Nairobi, and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.

Other outputs from the project have been featured in two earlier posts on this blog:

• New study calls for better training of local pig farmers in western Kenya to boost profits 
• No more guesswork: Tool developed for better prediction of live weights of local pigs in western Kenya 

Citations
Mutua FK, Dewey C, Arimi S, Ogara W, Levy M and Schelling E. 2012. A description of local pig feeding systems in village smallholder farms of Western Kenya. Tropical Animal Health and Production, Online First 5 January 2012, doi 10.1007/s11250-011-0052-6

Mutua FK, Dewey CE, Arimi SM, Schelling E, Ogara WO and Levy M. 2011. Reproductive performance of sows in rural communities of Busia and Kakamega Districts, Western Kenya. African Journal of Agricultural Research 6(31): 6485-6491.

ILRI develops training manuals towards improving quality of pig production and marketing in Northeast India

A farmer feeds her pigs in Nagaland, India. ILRI has produced training manuals to help small-scale pig farmers,  veterinary practitioners and pork traders in Northeast India improve farm productivity and product quality (photo credit: ILRI/Mann).

Small-scale pig production and marketing play important roles in contributing to the livelihoods of poor tribal populations that live in Northeast India.

A 2008 study by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) characterized the pig sub-sector in Nagaland, Northeast India and found that the region is home to over a quarter of India's total pig population. Here, 80-90% of tribal communities keep 2-3 pigs, mostly under traditional production systems.

However, the traditional methods of pig production are constrained by lack of management inputs like quality feeds and preventive animal health services. This often leads to low productivity and poor quality of pork products.

Towards improving the quality of pig production and marketing, ILRI's Asia Office and Capacity Strengthening Unit joined hands with national research partners in India to develop three training manuals on smallholders' pig management, veterinary first aid for pigs, and hygienic pork production and marketing.

The manuals are aimed at enhancing the capacity of pig producers, veterinary practitioners and pork traders, respectively, to transform subsistence pig production into small-scale commercial farming that satisfies growing consumer demand for quality and safety.

"It is expected that the implementation of training programs based on these manuals will help to improve productivity and provision of animal health care, and build knowledge and awareness on hygienic pork selling which in turn will improve profitability and livelihoods of smallholder pig producers and pork traders," said Dr Purvi Mehta Bhatt, Head of ILRI's Capacity Strengthening Unit. 

ILRI project offers viable solutions to rising pork prices in Vietnam

Farmer Ma Thi Puong feeds her pigs on her farm near the northern town of Meo Vac, Vietnam: Policies that address supply constraints faced by both small and large pig farmers in Vietnam can help in long-term solutions to the rising prices of pork and live pigs. (Photo credit: ILRI/Mann).

Rising consumer demand for pork, high cost of animal feed and ineffcient value chains have led to skyrocketing prices of pork and live pigs in Vietnam. Within the first half of 2011 alone, the cost of pork and live pigs doubled in the principal urban markets of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

As policymakers seek long-term solutions towards boosting domestic supply of pork to meet the sustained consumer demand, research findings by scientists from the Market Opportunities theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) can help in pointing the way to viable solutions to the current food price crisis.

Findings from a three-year (2007-2010) Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)-funded ILRI-led collaborative project, Improving competitiveness of smallholder pig producers in an adjusting Vietnam market, suggest that both small-scale and large-scale pig producers should be targeted in a strategy for expanding domestic pork supply in Vietnam, considering that prices are likely to remain high in the long run on account of pork being a key ingredient in the Vietnamese diet.

These and other findings are highlighted in an article by Nguyen Do Anh Tuan of Vietnam's Centre for Agricultural Policy and Lucy Lapar of ILRI published in the 22-28 August 2011 issue of Vietnam Investment Review, Vietnam's leading weekly international business newspaper.

Previous interventions by the Vietnam government have tended to ignore small-scale farmers, focusing instead on developing large-scale farms to address supply constraints such as rising feed prices, losses from diseases and inefficiencies in pork value chain.

However, research findings based on a pig sector model for Vietnam suggest that large-scale pig farms will make a minimal contribution to supply in both the short- and long- term. Indeed, the majority small-scale farms were found to be better able to adapt to volatile prices in feed markets, hence creating efficiencies in these systems.

Therefore, focusing on large-scale farms and ignoring the majority of small-scale farms and their constraints will not result in long-term efficiency gains, the study concluded.

"The focus should be on addressing causes of constraints to productivity growth, such as disease outbreaks, rising feed prices, efficient system for replacement of breeding stocks and improving pork value chain performance," the article's authors suggest.

"Policies that will provide incentives to generate new technological breakthroughs and appropriate institutions to support these would likely to be more effective options," the authors add.

The project collaborators were the Centre for Agricultural Policy - Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development (CAP-IPSARD), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Oxfam Hong Kong and the University of Queensland.

Read the complete article from the Vietnam Investment Review

For more information, please contact Dr Lucy Lapar of ILRI (l.lapar @ cgiar.org), visit the project website or read the project publications.

You may also be interested in these past blog posts on Livestock Markets Digest

• In the news: Director of ILRI's market opportunities theme interviewed on Vietnam agriculture TV channel (December 2010)
• ILRI project poster wins top prize at European College of Veterinary Public Health annual conference (October 2010)
• In the news: ILRI-led research on smallholder pig producers features in Vietnam News (October 2010)
• Vietnam pork sector study featured in New Agriculturist (February 2010)

ILRI in the news: Business Daily features ILRI project on improving pig production in western Kenya

The 8 March 2011 issue of the Business Daily newspaper featured research work by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and partners on improving pig production in western Kenya.

The research project developed and validated a tool to help smallholder pig farmers accurately estimate the weight of their animals to determine the selling price. Because the weight estimation tool is more accurate than the commonly used method of visual assessment, which often under-estimates the actual pig weight, small-scale farmers in western Kenya can now get a fairer price for their pigs and, consequently, boost their household incomes.

Here's the link to the Business Daily article: Pig measuring tool tips the scales in favour of farmers.

Related blog posts
No more guesswork: Tool developed for better prediction of live weights of local pigs in western Kenya

New study calls for better training of local pig farmers in western Kenya to boost profits

No more guesswork: Tool developed for better prediction of live weights of local pigs in western Kenya

Pig farmers in rural western Kenya can now have better bargaining power and a chance of getting a fair price when selling their animals, thanks to a newly developed tool that uses body length and girth measurements to estimate pig weight within reasonable levels of accuracy.

A study published in the January/February 2011 edition of the Journal of Swine Health and Production details how the weight-prediction tool was developed and validated based on 298 observations of pigs in Busia and Kakamega districts of western Kenya where smallholder pig keeping is a popular enterprise.

Households here typically keep one or two pigs of local nondescript breeds that are either tethered or left free to scavenge for feed.

No formal market structures exist for sale of the mature pigs; local traders and pork butchers usually travel between farms on bicycles looking for pigs to buy.

The selling price is based on the weight of the pig but because farmers cannot afford to buy weighing scales, they have no option but to guess the weight based on visual assessment.

This guesswork method of "weighing by looking" is evidently less accurate than the use of a scale and often results in the farmers underestimating the weight of their pigs and thus selling at a price far below market value.

Weight predictions using body measurements have been studied in other countries and for various species of animals.

However, this was the first time that weight prediction using girth and length measurements for pigs was being studied in rural western Kenya or in similar settings in East Africa.

Based on weights and body measurements, mathematical weight equations were developed for three categories of pigs: young (under 5 months), market age (5.1-9.9 months) and breeding age (over 10 months).

Farmers were also asked to "guesstimate" the age and weight of the pigs in each category.

The weight predicted by the equation was more accurate than that estimated by the farmers.

For 90% of the market-age pigs, the difference between the actual weight and that predicted by the equation was 4.6 kg which was significantly lower than the difference of 24 kg between the actual pig weight and the farmers' estimates.

The authors suggest that the weight-prediction tool will offer smallholder farmers in western Kenya the opportunity to get better market value for their local pigs and will act as an incentive to better manage their pigs through improved feeding and husbandry.

Separate analysis is ongoing to evaluate the effect of the tool on the farmer-trader bargaining process and on pricing.

The study was part of research by the lead author, Florence Mutua, towards a PhD degree in epidemiology from the University of Nairobi (awarded 2010).

The paper’s co-authors are Cate Dewey of the University of Guelph, Samuel Arimi and William Ogara of the University of Nairobi, and Esther Schelling of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.

Dr Mutua’s ILRI supervisor was Dr Thomas Randolph, agricultural economist and head of ILRI’s research team on smallholder competitiveness in changing markets.

Access the article


Citation
Mutua FK, Dewey CE, Arimi SM, Schelling E and Ogara WO. 2011. Prediction of live body weight using length and girth measurements for pigs in rural Western Kenya. Journal of Swine Health and Production 19(1): 26-33.

New study calls for better training of local pig farmers in western Kenya to boost profits

Better marketing, improved access to credit, and training on good pig husbandry practices are among key interventions needed to boost the profitability of indigenous pig production in western Kenya, a new study reports.

Production of indigenous pigs is a popular enterprise among farmers in western Kenya because it is a low-risk venture with minimal input requirements in terms of space and feed. Smallholder households in this region typically keep one or two pigs that are either tethered or left free to scavenge.

The study published in the Nordic Journal of African Studies examined the beliefs and perceptions on local pig production among smallholder farmers in Kakamega District in western Kenya. The study also sought to establish the challenges the farmers face in production and marketing of their pigs, and possible avenues for improving pig husbandry and boosting farmer incomes.

Focus group discussions were held with four groups of 8-12 farmers each, as well as divisional staff working in livestock production, agriculture, health, adult education and social services.

Some of the constraints hampering the growth of indigenous pig farming include poor rural infrastructure, lack of local pork processing facilities, low levels of awareness among farmers on appropriate pig breeding methods, and religious beliefs surrounding consumption of pork.

The authors acknowledge that the challenges affecting the sector will need to be addressed first before any reasonable gains can be achieved.

“Future research needs to directly address the issues raised by the farmers and staff to enable the smallholder pig sector to thrive in this region of Kenya,” the paper concludes.

For example, training and extension tools for farmers will need to be revised to incorporate the different topics suggested by farmers and the staff so that training workshops better meet the needs of the participants.

The study was part of research by the lead author, Florence Mutua, towards a PhD degree in epidemiology from the University of Nairobi (awarded 2010). The paper’s co-authors are Samuel Arimi and William Ogara of the University of Nairobi, Cate Dewey of the University of Guelph and Esther Schelling of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.

Dr Mutua’s ILRI supervisor was Dr Thomas Randolph, agricultural economist and head of ILRI’s research team on smallholder competitiveness in changing markets.

Access the article

Citation
Mutua F, Arimi S, Ogara W, Dewey C and Schelling E. 2010. Farmer perceptions on indigenous pig farming in Kakamega District, Western Kenya. Nordic Journal of African Studies 19(1): 43–57.

Informal contract arrangements are an economic boost for Vietnam’s small-scale pig farmers

Farmer Ma Thi Puong feeds her pigs on her farm near the northern town of Meo Vac, Viet Nam. (Photo credit: ILRI/Mann)

The rapid growth in demand for pork in Vietnam presents an opportunity for rural pig-keeping households to improve their incomes. This project on contract farming for equitable market-oriented smallholder swine production in northern Vietnam sought to characterize the ‘true’ costs and benefits of contract farming of swine in northern Vietnam.

The ultimate objective was to understand the barriers to participation of smallholders in contract farming and other market arrangements and to identify a set of policy and intervention options that would facilitate profitable market-oriented livestock farming partnerships.

The project was carried out in four provinces of northern Vietnam that supply slaughter pigs to the Hanoi market: Bac Giang, Ha Tay, Thai Binh and Thanh Hoa. Selected case studies assessed a variety of institutional arrangements and provided information on marketing arrangements for pigs and pig products under different institutional forms, and on contractor strategies for targeting and selecting producers in Northern Vietnam.

Below are a few key highlights of the project findings.

Scale of production is a barrier to smallholder participation
Smallholder farmers keeping only a few pigs tended to be locked out of participating in formal contract arrangements primarily because contractors preferred to engage farmers with more than 50 sows and large-scale farms that generated outputs of more than 5 tonnes live weight per year.

Informal contract arrangements benefit smallholders
Informal contracts with co-operative societies can help small-scale farmers generate better returns in short-duration pig production systems such as production of crossbreeds under farrow-to-wean and grow-to-finish systems. However, for longer production cycles (farrow-to-finish), independent producers had higher returns to labour. The benefits of contract farming arrangements included lower transaction costs, protection from production and market risks, and access to quality inputs, services, financing, information and markets for outputs.

Informal contract arrangements are effective
Based on the comparison of returns to labour between farmers with and without contracts, informal contract arrangements were effective in facilitating economic returns from pig production by providing farmers with a number of benefits and services such as price discounts, technical assistance, market information, delivery of inputs to farm and collection of outputs from farm.

The project was supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative (FAO-PPLPI) and administered by the Market Opportunities theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in collaboration with staff from Hanoi Agricultural University and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

For more information, please contact Dr Lucy Lapar of ILRI (l.lapar [at] cgiar.org).

Tool for management of Ankole cattle presented at meeting of international livestock experts

A body condition scoring system developed for Uganda's native Ankole cattle was presented during the 5th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 25-28 October 2010.

The standardized body condition scoring system was featured in a poster by Dr Ellen Dierenfeld, Senior Manager, Africa R&D and Manager, Sustainability Programs Research at Novus International, and  Dr Ben Lukuyu, an animal feed scientist with ILRI's Market Opportunities Theme.

Novus International, a global developer of animal health and nutrition programs, is partnering with ILRI and others in the East Africa Dairy Development project being undertaken in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

Body condition of dairy cattle affects their feeding efficiency, milk production and reproductive performance. For this reason, the scoring of body condition is an important management tool that can greatly assist livestock farmers to better manage their herds, especially at critical life stages such as early lactation and calving.

The body scoring system for Ankole cattle was developed based on information obtained from farmer interviews, literature reviews and body condition charts developed for other breeds. Based on feedback and inputs from farmers, the system will be refined in future, if needed.

Development of a standardized body condition score for native cattle in Uganda

View more presentations from ILRI CGIAR.

Citation
Dierenfeld ES and Lukuyu B. 2010. Development of a standardized body condition score for native cattle in Uganda. Poster presented at the 5th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture and the 18th Annual Meeting of the Ethiopian Society of Animal Production (ESAP), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 25-28 October 2010.

Are smallholder dairy farmers in East Africa competitive?

Small-scale dairy farms dominate production in most developing countries, including in East Africa. In the light of rapidly increasing demand for milk in most of the developing world, one important question is: can small-scale dairy farmers compete in the international arena? Also, what factors influence their competitiveness?

These questions were explored recently during a presentation by ILRI agricultural economist, Dr Isabelle Baltenweck, at the 6th Africa Dairy Conference and Exhibition held in Kigali, Rwanda on 18-20 May 2010.

The presentation was based on research findings from the East Africa Dairy Development project which quantified farm-gate milk prices and costs of milk production in study sites in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

The findings indicate that smallholder dairy producers in East Africa can effectively compete, mainly due to strong local demand. This can be further enhanced by improving economies of scale; enhancing access to inputs, services and appropriate technologies; improving infrastructure; and creating an enabling policy and institutional environment.

Competitiveness of smallholder dairy farmers in East Africa

View more presentations from ILRI CGIAR.

ILRI research report: Dairy farming in Uganda

Results of an in-depth characterization study of the Uganda dairy sector have been published in a 2007 ILRI research report titled Dairy farming in Uganda: Production efficiency and soil nutrients under different farming systems.

The study revealed that dairy farming in Uganda is profitable, regardless of the level of intensification, so a highly intensified system like zero-grazing is not always the best option.

Additionally, poor soil quality was found to be a problem in mixed crop-dairy farms under all dairy farming systems, despite availability of adequate amounts of on-farm manure. Shortage of labour may be one reason why manure is underused.

More research is needed into the economics and practicability of manure application and how to integrate it with other farm activities that compete for available labour.

Citation
Baltenweck I, Mubiru S, Nanyeenya W, Njoroge L, Halberg N, Romney D and Staal S. 2007. Dairy farming in Uganda: Production efficiency and soil nutrients under different farming systems. ILRI Research Report 1. ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi, Kenya. 26pp.

Download the report