In May 2013 the 14th Annual Meeting of the Inter-Agency Donor Group (IADG) on pro-poor livestock research and development focused on the topic "Development of Livestock Value Chains through strengthened Public-Private Cooperation". A number of development agencies (IFAD, ASARECA,
BMGF, ILRI, Netherlands government) informed the meeting on their activities in the dairy sector in East Africa. It was agreed that better coordination by development agencies on dairy development would be good for all parties and for the development of the dairy sector as a whole in East Africa. The
Netherlands offered to take the lead in organizing a trajectory geared at exploring possibilities
for coordination and for creating synergy within the different countries and possibly across countries. It was suggested to include the following countries: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Ethiopia. Focus will be on commercializing dairy value chains.
It has also been agreed that Australia will do the same for Southeast Asia, building on the experience gained in the East Africa trajectory.
The aim is to organize a workshop in the first quarter of 2014 in East Africa, with possible participation of key policy makers, lead persons in the industry and farmer organizations, and high level
representatives of relevant development agencies and knowledge institutes.
The purpose of the (concept) background document covered by the terms of reference (see Appendix 1) was to provide a sound and inspiring basis for a constructive, open discussion on actions by the various stakeholders. It is also expected that the final document will serve as an important and highly valued reference document for all stakeholders.
1.1 Assignment and deliverables 1.1.1 Analytical framework
For the proper implementation of this assignment a clear and comprehensive analytical framework will need to be set up and agreed upon with the guiding group. Rather than reinventing the wheel, the study should collate information from major original studies and reports on the sector in the six countries over the past 10 years, with stakeholder consultation (including donors) focusing on validation and gap filling, rather than new data collection & analysis. The assessment is expected to result in a background report that will inform and guide the program and the proceedings of the workshop. This report should have a concise executive summary, whilst the main report should not exceed 50 pages. The report should contain country profiles and a more general analysis. The below section details these components:
1.1.2 Country assessments
For each of the countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Ethiopia) make a ten-page description of the structure, emerging issues, challenges and opportunities of the dairy sector (10 years back and 5-10 years ahead); based on available reports from governments, trade and production statistics at (sub)national level, international organizations, companies, chambers of commerce, farmers’ organizations, knowledge institutes, NGOs, and experiences from development projects;
Based on country descriptions containing the following information, the performance of value chains and sector in economic, environmental and social terms (including gender roles in production, marketing and delivery of inputs and services) and prospects for sustainable growth should be evaluated (SWOT analysis):
Value chains - To identify the major value chain constraints and required interventions in production and marketing systems:
Markets & market dynamics - market size, products, expected trends; marketing strategies of main players in the different segments (formal, semi-formal and informal; domestic and import/export); market concentration ratio in the formal market; distribution channels and outlets for different segments and trends; consumer segments served; consumer practices, perception and appreciation of value of milk and dairy products; benchmarking of dairy product prices against prices of basic consumer products; regulations on milk quality, safety, quality and safety regulations and enforcement; trends and barriers for cross-border/regional trade in dairy products & inputs (part. feed & fodder);
Particular attention should go to the question how the transition from informal to formal value chain affects the livelihoods of smallholder dairy farmers, or in other words: How do smallholders
maximize their livelihoods in dairy value chains?
Milk collection, bulking, and processing - processing systems, size and number of units and ownership structure of producers and processors, volumes collected and processed, trends and developments; farmer organizations - numbers, characteristics and performance including farm gate prices and milk pricing system;
Primary production - dairy productions systems with technical details per system: production, sourcing and production of feedstuffs and rations, (incl. parameters like feeding costs and milk/concentrate price ratio); sourcing and production of breeding/replacement stock; health problems/costs; description of the position, role and interdependencies of the dairy production system within the overall farming system; smallholder inclusion; statistics should include a
segmentation of farmers (small, medium size and large); production systems (pastoral, mixed crop- livestock, semi-urban/landless); genetic resource base (locally adapted breeds and crosses with exotic breeds, breeding strategies);
Inputs and services - animal health services and drug supply; animal identification and performance recording, breeding and AI services (incl. source/type of semen), extension services; feed & forage supply; financial services, use of telecommunications/IT incl. cell/smart phones and internet for data collection and information dissemination.
Enabling environment – To identify the major opportunities and constraints in the context that the dairy sector is operating in:
• Business climate- priority of dairy sector in government policies, foreign investments;
• Policies - incl. rural development/poverty reduction, livestock sector development incl. breeding programs, food safety and quality assurance policies, food security incl. school feeding
programs;
• Dairy sector organizations - strengths and strategies of farmers’ associations, leading industry associations, and sector organizations like Dairy Boards;
• Coordination – public-private dairy sector/value chain coordination platforms and their functioning;
• Training and Knowledge Transfer - capacity building, R&D, education, innovation, and exchange activities, including overview of relevant training and research institutes.
Donor programs
Overview of donor supported programs, with aim, scope, approach, activities, implementing agencies, budgets, and key results so far;
Results and lessons learned from implementation of projects/programs over the past decade;
Future plans and focus of donors. General analysis
• Main challenges and solutions for dairy sector development. Priority issues and challenges to be addressed at various aggregation levels.
• Gap analysis: which challenges do not get the attention they deserve, how they could be addressed, and what are potential contributions by national governments, private sector parties, civil society actors, and donor agencies.
• Possibilities for development agencies to better coordinate and create synergies within and between countries.
• Connections to Global Agenda of Action of the Livestock Dialogue and the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources.