Danone Egypt has secured the quantity and quality of its milk sourcing in one hand while it has contributed to the improved welfare of small farmers in Egypt on the other.

Danone established Milk Collection Centers, have contributed to the increased quality and quantity of  the milk produced by smallholding farmers 

Smallholding dairy farmers in Egypt produce around 80% of the milk available in the market. Yet, despite this high percentage, the majority of them are in a very weak position and unable to defend their interests. Milk prices are low and a lack of price transparency is encouraging fraud and causing mistrust. Milk quality improvement, meanwhile, is a challenge for Danone, which needs to meet its quality criteria to ensure consumers get the best products. By supporting small-scale farming in Egypt, Danone Egypt wishes to diversify its milk sourcing, increasing the volume available from local communities. In addition, small farmers will have increased access to formal dairy market chains with increased quality and quantity of the milk produced from their healthier animals.

With the support of the Danone Ecosystem Fund, Danone Egypt and its local partner CARE Egypt, the Milk Collection Communities project is setting up new collection centers and renovating existing ones to meet new quality standards. Milk collection centers are owned by strong co-operatives while their teams of supervisors and volunteers have been trained to provide quality monitoring such as milk analysis and storage. The team has also been trained on how to manage the centers’ logistics, as well as those of the associated services (such as feed, veterinary services, etc). Small farmers also have the opportunity to be trained on hygiene, milking, veterinary services, governance and organization.

The project has empowered small farmers by improving their revenue and expertise. Milk Collection Communities also have created jobs in the milk collection centers themselves.

This document was produced by DARPE www.darpe.me, November, 2017. For the UN Global Compact Egypt Network