Food Security Kenya Project #17499

EADD II - East Africa Dairy Development Phase II

by Heifer International

EADD II - East Africa Dairy Development Phase II

Project Report | Apr 25, 2019
EADD II Update - April 2019

By Marc Bunn | C.A.S.

A note regarding timing of updates: Due to the sheer size of the EADD II project and the requisite hours needed to gather, aggregate, analyze and draft reports, there is a lengthy delay between activities and reporting. The following is a summary report on progress achieved in 2017. More stories and statistics will be detailed in subsequent updates.

2017 was a definitive year for the project. The team evolved from focusing exclusively on the hub approach as the nucleus of the project, to venturing into the dairy market, particularly in Tanzania and Uganda. This was a natural transition in response to weak linkages between the producer organizations and the dairy market. It involved looking at the existing dairy markets in the countries and identifying areas where the project could leverage expertise to benefit farmers, both through the dairy hubs and milk processors. East Africa Dairy Development II works with three processors in Tanzania at different capacities, to help create markets and demand for the milk produced by the dairy farmers.

No longer active in Kenya, the project is in the final phases of exiting Uganda by October 2018, and exiting Tanzania by October 2019. Significant work strengthens the established foundations and ensures sustainability of farmer representation in the dairy value chain. We achieve this by creating new farmer apex bodies where needed, and by strengthening those already in operation. The project will continue to support existing bodies in Kenya and Uganda - Kenya Dairy Farmers Federation and the Uganda Crane Creameries Cooperative Union; while in Tanzania, registration of a dairy cooperative union is ongoing.

Targets indicate a positive trend. Both Tanzania and Uganda report an increase in farmer numbers when compared to previous years. Active farmers who supply and access services increased from 74,823 in 2016 to 107,736 in 2017 - with 60,081 in Kenya, 28,223 in Uganda, and 18,432 in Tanzania. At the close of the project, Kenya had surpassed its target of 58,000 farmers to reaching over 60,000 farmers. Farmers also received a boost in dairy household income with farmers in Uganda getting an increase of 29 percent and those in Tanzania getting an increase of 44 percent compared to 2016 figures.

It was also a good year for the producer organizations in Uganda and Tanzania, which recorded a rise in revenue. Uganda for instance increased its revenue from $3.98 million in 2016 to $6.9 million in 2017, while Tanzania increased from $500,000 to $900,000. However, revenue in Kenya decreased from $10.4 million to $7.6 million, due to prolonged, severe drought during the first half of the year.

The project continued leveraging the social capital development approach in farmer outreach and capacity building and in the transfer of skills for farmers through dairy interest groups. Our social capital development fuels remarkable transformations among dairy farmers and includes an increased adoption rate for productivity enhancing technologies, strengthened social cohesion and peer-to-peer learning. In addition, stakeholders such as government-led projects and micro finance institutions show increasing interest in using existing social capital development structures to expedite desired results. Stakeholders also increased technical and financial support for hubs and dairy interest groups, indicating project transformation and growth. Likewise, farmers were able to mobilize capital through savings and credit schemes with greater capacity than previous years, and reported a savings portfolio of $512,000. The savings and credit schemes act as community safety nets through which financial resources are availed to men and women in dairy interest groups.

Phase II continues to promulgate gender equity for women involved in the dairy value chain. A 2017 assessment on Women Empowerment in Agriculture, executed in Tanzania, indicates a significant increase in the rate of women who engage in decision making at the household level. The report shows that women are now more involved in decisions on feeding, disease prevention and treatment, breeding and household milk sales. By deliberately involving men as gender change agents, men further promote gender inclusivity in the sector. Kenya saw a notable increase in the gender index as it rose from 22.9 to 46.4.

A key success of the project is the birth of new projects anchored on the East Africa Dairy Development approach. For example, Heifer International received funding from the Swedish Embassy in Kenya to implement the Kenya Market Led Dairy Supply Chain Project. The four year, $2.7 million project developed a partnership with New Kenya Cooperative Creameries and Tetra Laval/Tetra pack, with the two private companies contributing $2.8 million. The project builds on East Africa Dairy Development experiences such as working with dairy cooperatives and linking them to sustainable markets.

In 2017, we learned key lessons to consider in preparing project phase out at the end of 2018 for Uganda, and 2019 for Tanzania. This includes building more public-private partnerships to leverage resources, competencies and the delivery of sustainable interventions, and to strengthen farmer organizations. This effectively promotes healthy competition in the sector and stable milk prices to improve farmer incomes and community transformation.

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Jan 18, 2019
January Project Report

By Heifer Staff | Writer/Editor

EADD - Lessons Learned

Strong leadership and good governance are essential for Hub proftability and sustainability

Strong leadership and good governance are vital for continued Hub proftability, expansion and vision. EADD supports Hub management through training in fnancial management, business planning, business organization, good governance and reporting. The management training is provided at all levels: from dairy farmers to board members, making it an area of ongoing responsibility. Capacity building has increased monthly milk intake in Tarakwo Dairy. Previously the Dairy collected 250 liters of milk per day today, there has been a quantum leap and this fgure stands at 10,000 liters per day during the dry season, and goes as high as 20,000 liters during the wet season

Competitive and stable milk prices promote farmer loyalty

POs have managed to give farmers attractive and prompt payments, and farmers in turn sell only to the POs. The contract pay basis by the processors as per the PO milk volumes has facilitated prompt payment like in Sirikwa Dairy. The stable and competitive milk prices have helped to build trust and loyalty between the farmers and POs thus encouraging the farmer to invest more in dairy as a business. A high volume supply of quality milk is very valuable to larger scale dairy processors. Successful Hubs like Tarakwo, Sirikwa, Lessos and Lelchego have used this to leverage competitive milk supplier contracts and attractive prices with processors such as Brookside Dairies.

Strong public-private partnership will sustain the dairy value chain

The private sector has partnered with the county government departments of livestock, in providing veterinary and extension services to farmers in the project areas. This partnership has been useful in building a sustainable extension structure which requires time and investment. This helps to grow both the PO and farmer at diferent levels and contributes to the sustainability of the dairy value chain

Recruitment of qualifed staf with adequate technical knowledge is essential for proftability

The quality of the organization’s fnancial systems, policies, procedures and the staf knowledge of the system contribute greatly to a good working environment that will ultimately contribute to increased proftability. Related to this is sound fnancial management. Further, recruitment of qualifed staf with adequate knowledge of the job also reduces board-management confict.

Investing in fodder preservation and water conservation can mitigate seasonality effects

During the project period, there were increased spells of prolonged dry weather which afected milk production, and necessitated investments in the water conservation and fodder management. Farmers who have invested in water harvesting and feed conservation practices confrmed reduced seasonality in milk productivity and ability to continue earning good income through all seasons. Training from EADD has helped them to remain proftable by sustaining milk production through continuous feeding during dry seasons, thus tackling climate change head-on.

Social capital development mobilizes farmers while creating socio-economic systems

Social capital is contributing towards stronger dairy enterprise sustainability through improved leadership, ownership and capacity building. It is key in the organization of farmers to access services and promotes linkage between farmers and POs. Thanks to mobilization eforts, group membership increased three-fold from 24% at baseline to 72% in 2016. Social capital development brings togetherness, harmony, cohesion and peaceful coexistence among members of a community, and reinforces their values, mobilizing them to take action in securing their own development.

Farmer perceptions and attitudes towards dairy as an enterprise enhance their success and proftability

The successful dairy farmers are those who treat dairy as an enterprise and who invest invest in all critical factors of production i.e. better feeds, feeding practices, disease control and cow comfort to ensure that they generate good incomes. Together with this is livestock disease management, which is important in preventing diseases such as Foot and Mouth, East Coast Fever and Mastitis; ensuring better herd production, safety and quality of raw milk

Involvement of women and youth is key to the dairy industry’s success

Through gender sensitization and mainstreaming, women and youth are participating more meaningfully in the dairy industry at both household and PO levels.

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Oct 19, 2018
October Project Report - EADD II - Overview

By Heifer Staff Writers | n/a

Initiated in 2008 and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the East Africa Dairy Development project has provided extensive training on dairy husbandry, business practices and operation, and marketing of dairy products to 203,778 dairy farmers in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Twenty-seven milk collection hubs were developed, 10 existing hubs were improved, and 82 producers’ organizations were formed by 2012. Since then, EADD has grown to be one of the leading market-oriented development initiatives in eastern Africa, earning the farming families more than $131 million. The second phase of the program is strengthening the approach implemented in its first four years to make the project scalable and replicable. EADD II expanded into Tanzania while continuing work in Kenya and Uganda, and it is employing new technologies and practices around fodder production, alternative energy sources and milk transport systems. The project prioritizes social capital and gender equity to increase impact, and will benefit 136,000 primary beneficiaries with proven benefits for their families and communities.

IMPLEMENTATION YEARS
2014–2018

THIS PROJECT WILL
1 Achieve sustainable livelihoods for 136,000 smallholder farm families in East Africa
2. Work with 43,000 dairy farmers in 33 hubs in Uganda
3. Work with 58,000 dairy farmers in Kenya to strengthen EADD I hubs, pilot innovative techniques and build capacity of the Kenya Dairy Farmers Federation
4. Work with 35,000 farmers in Tanzania, identified as the highest potential dairy growth area

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

• Farmer sustainability

• Hub sustainability

• Gender equity, women’s participation and economic empowerment
• Model replication and scale

The project develops key linkages in each country with key players in the industry. EADD II is seeking private sector partners who can bring and add value in the areas of milk production, access to credit, milk processing and value addition, breed improvement, sustainable feed systems, water management, milk storage, packaging and product transportation.

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