About the project

Today in Africa, demand for dairy products is rising. However, dairies have difficulties to source local milk in terms of volume, regularity and quality. Sustainability of dairy production, contribution of dairy to food security, and inclusion of producers in value chains (i.e. women and youth) are becoming major stakes.

Africa-Milk supports co-design and implementation of technical, and organizational innovations to increase and secure local milk sourcing, considering the potential of ecological intensification of milk production and the development of inclusive milksheds to reach this objective.

The overall consortium includes African research organizations (ISRA, INERA, UoN, FIFAMANOR), WUR and CIRAD in Europe, all with strong experience on African milk production and sustainable development, and nine processors in four countries (Senegal, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Madagascar), covering a variety of agro-climatic and production contexts.

The project is organized in four tasks:

  1. Baseline studies, establishment of local dairy innovation platforms (DIPs)
  2. Co-design of efficient and inclusive milk collection systems
  3. Co-design of intensive and ecological dairy farming systems
  4. Monitoring, evaluation and learning

Expected results: (1) researchers have delivered a support approach to co-design innovation; engaged stakeholders have established DIPs; (2) DIPs have tested and, where possible, implemented organizational innovations in milksheds; (3) engaged producers have tested and implemented technical innovations at farm level.

These outputs will contribute to the following outcomes: stakeholders have increased innovation capacity; stakeholders have implemented efficient and inclusive milk collection systems; and producers have implemented intensive and ecological dairy farming systems. Finally, if stakeholders improve and secure milk sourcing in local dairy value chains, the project will have reached its goal of providing jobs for the local people and milk for all !