CIRAD is supporting the development of dairy farming in the Sahel

Several tens of millions of families in West Africa produce milk. However, as things stand, because of population growth and changing consumption habits, demand for dairy products outstrips local production capacity. Dairies process less than 5% of the milk produced by farms in the Sahel. This is because farms are isolated, output is seasonal and insufficient, and collection systems are inefficient. Local supply chains receive little public support, and have been hard hit by overseas competition in the form of cheap, imported milk powder.

A supply chain drowning in EU surpluses

Since the 2010s, in West Africa, traditional full-fat milk powders have been pushed out by powdered skimmed milk/vegetable fat blends. Butter production leaves makers in Europe with huge volumes of skimmed milk powder. This "by-product" is re-enriched with vegetable fats – often palm oil – and sold in Africa at a price 30% below that of the traditional product. It currently accounts for almost 25% of "dairy product" consumption in the region. It is almost impossible for producers in the Sahel to withstand this unfair competition. Research by CIRAD has shown that traditional dairy products are uncompetitive due to their high cost, the difficulty of transporting them to urban consumers, and the lack of health certification. However, the terms of this competition are also determined by the rules and regulations (or the lack of them) governing quality and trade, which may favour industrial products.
Nevertheless, there is substantial potential to develop local milk collection and processing structures and the jobs, income, and food and nutritional security they would bring. Our work has helped to integrate livestock production into national economies to make it a powerful lever for development in the Sahel, via three main spheres of action.   

Supporting local production and collection

Among other things, CIRAD has supported the development of a software to enable farmers to feed their animals with local products; mapping of collection networks; dairy farm monitoring; and simulation of the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of developing mini-dairies. It has participated in the introduction of innovative systems in Senegal, Mali, Mauritania and Burkina Faso, to help stakeholders produce and collect more milk locally. Mini-dairies have proved to have a marked positive impact: they generate substantial income around secondary towns and are an easily reproducible technico-economic model.
Research by CIRAD has also revealed that the most efficient production systems are not large, highly intensive farms but mixed crop-livestock systems based on more rational intensification.

Steering industrial strategy and public policy

On the basis that milk powder imports are crucial for the development of local collection, CIRAD is working with dairy firms and the authorities to include local milk in their respective strategies and policies. CIRAD supports large-scale advocacy campaigns on this topic and supplies civil society players, including NGOs, with the necessary arguments. This has already produced results: firms are increasingly keen to make local collection the core of a sustainable, profitable long-term strategy. Our research has also shown policymakers the merits of modifying legislation and tax measures to foster the development of the local sector. With the introduction of a minimum quota for locally collected milk, VAT exemptions for certain local products, targeted taxation of palm oil-enriched powder-based products, and so on, governments in the Sahel are increasingly showing their commitment. Lastly, CIRAD is working actively to set up local consultation bodies (World Milk Days and local observatories) to encourage stakeholders to discuss the issues. The launch of a local milk campaign by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is the most significant result so far.

Training dairy sector managers

By supervising a series of theses on the dairy sector in the Sahel and establishing training courses, CIRAD is helping to build a valuable body of knowledge and supporting dairy sector leaders. Many ex-PhD students who were co-supervised by CIRAD are now working for agricultural research organizations in West Africa, international public development aid agencies (World Bank, USAID, etc.) and the authorities.  
What remains to be done? One of the priorities for our current research is to work alongside African and European dairy firms to promote “responsible” investment and exports in West Africa. To this end, in December 2020, CIRAD presented a study of the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of European powdered milk exports to West Africa to European parliament members. This work with the private sector complements our background work of supporting public policy, farmers’ organizations and development agencies. Our support of this sector, which is of key importance for the West African economies of the future, is thus growing year after year.