Title
Milk Demand Stimulation
Description
Average annual milk consumption per person in Ethiopia remains very low at around 20-25 litres, as compared to 120 litres in Kenya and 180 litres in Sudan. Particularly, the consumption habit of pasteurized milk is underdeveloped among adults. Inadequate awareness about the benefits of pasteurized milk and the health risks associated with drinking unpasteurized milk among consumers are some key challenges contributing to low consumption of processed dairy products in the country. CDAIS project supports the Ethiopian Milk Processor Industry Association (EMPIA) and stakeholders in their eff ort to create demand for locally produced pasteurized milk through media campaigns, a school milk pilot programme, and influencing policy through multi-stakeholder process.
In recent years, the demand for milk products is increasing in Ethiopia in response to increasing population, urbanization and rising income. The national average daily milk yield from indigenous dairy cows is 1.9 liters per cow, whereas the average daily milk yield was 2.3 liters per cow in the Ethiopian highlands. As a result, Ethiopia is a net importer of dairy products. Despite the rapid growth of milk processing industries in Ethiopia in the last 20 years (from one to more than 30 industries), formal milk market has very limited market share in the country (<20%). Inadequate awareness about the benefits of fresh pasteurized milk and the health risks associated with drinking unpasteurized and unsafe milk among the consumers are some of the key challenges contributing to the underdevelopment of the dairy sector in the country. Furthermore, several studies have shown that milk-consumption habit of adults in Ethiopia is very low as compared to those in neighboring countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Sudan. Except in some parts of Oromia and the pastoralist, milk consumption among adults is low in Ethiopia. Per capita consumption of milk in the country is particularly low (19-24 litters) when compared with the neighboring countries such as Kenya (120) and Sudan (180).
The Ethiopian Milk Processor Industry Association (EMPIA) is striving to stimulate milk demand in Ethiopia, thereby increasing the market share for pasteurized milk in the country. The milk industries, mainly located in and around Addis Ababa, are the biggest milk buyers from the thousands of smallholder producers in Oromia region The national task force envisages to address the challenge through three important interventions, all of which require the interactions and innovation of the multiple stakeholders in many different ways. These include:
- Providing public education through preparing and using various media instruments and through using national/local radio and television services
- Starting a school milk-feeding program at pilot level and scale up this experiences for greater impacts
- Policy influence through organizing debates around the issue with diverse stakeholders and the policy people
The Ethiopian Milk Processors Association and its partners wanted to organize a pilot school milk feeding in Addis Ababa using milk collected from some districts of Oromia. It is expected to improve the health status of millions of Ethiopian children and create market for the smallholder farmers who are facing market challenges. The manager of the Ethiopian Milk Industry Association is one of the facilitators of this process and another facilitator has extensive experience in facilitating dairy innovation system in Ethiopia. While EMPIA is leading this process, many actors including the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Media organizations (WAFA), Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), NGOS, donor communities and farmer organizations are also part of this initiative.
Aim
Influencing policy and creating a demand for locally produced pasteurized milk through media campaigns and a school milk pilot programme
Location
Addis Abeba
