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| The Kiboga West Dairy Plant, which processes 8,000 litres of milk per day and serves 1,500 farmers |
The EADD program began in 2008 when the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded a five-year, $42.8 million grant to Heifer with the goal of doubling the income of 179,000 farming families in three East African countries over 10 years. EADD is now in its fourth year, and we’re analyzing the program’s results and discussing phase two of the project.
And the results are impressive, to say the least. Here are some key points from Moses’s presentation:
- Before the program, millions of dairy farmers were disfranchised, without any say in the direction of the dairy industry in their area. Now, 142,000 farmers are mobilized into more than 3,000 active communities of producers.
- In the past, few women were willing to take up leadership positions within their communities. After implementation of EADD, 26 percent of the program’s local leaders are women.
- Before EADD, less than 10 percent of farmers in the three EADD countries banked or had access to credit. Now, 80 percent of the 90,000 participant farmers in Kenya have bank accounts in communities once considered too poor for sound investing or bank financing.
At today’s event, Heifer CEO Pierre Ferrari told the attendees about his trip this past December to visit some of the EADD projects. Pierre holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and he said he was impressed with the farmers he met. Through EADD, these burgeoning entrepreneurs were selling their surplus milk and participating in the regional economy. “The rapidity at which they were learning and implementing these business practices was remarkable,” Pierre said.
You can join an ongoing conversation about food security and related issues at USAID’s new Agrilinks Blog. There, you can also view and download today’s presentation.
And now it’s your turn. Should programs like this East Africa dairy initiative be implemented elsewhere? Could this same model be applied to other food commodities? Leave your ideas in the comments below.
MEMORANDUM FOR DAIRY GOATS IN CHEPTAIS DISTRICT.
MAINTANCE OF DAIRY COW IS EXPENSIVE COMPARED WITH THAT OF DAIRY GOAT, THAT NEED SMALL SPACE PRODUCING RELATIVELY HIGH, WE NEED TO CHANGE AND ADAPT TO DRAUGHT THROUGH ADOPTION OF DAIRY GOATS. IN THIS PERSPECTIVE WE NEED GOVERNMENT AND DONORS TO ALLOCATE RESOURCES TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL SCALE WOMEN FARMERS’ INITIATIVES AS FOLLOWS:-
1. THAT AS READ IN ONE DAIRY GOAT ASSOCIATION BRONCHURE THERE IS NEED TO PROMOTE DAIRY GOATS.
2. THAT OBSEVED IS THEIR NEED TO SCALE UP DAIRY GOATS PRODUCTION FOR INCOME AND FOOD SECURITY.
3. THAT THERE IS NEED TO HAVE 30 DAIRY GOATS GROUPS OF 25 MEMBERS IN EVERY SUB-LOCATION.
4. THAT FARMER GROUPS NEEDS PEDIGREE BUCKS TO GIVE BREEDING SYSTEM THUS AVOIDING IN BREEDING.
5. THAT FARMERS NEED TO ADD VALUE TO ITS PRODUCTS AND MINI DAIRY FOR GOATS MILK THUS NEEDS TRAINNING.
6. THAT EVERY HOME SHOULD HAVE ATLEAST 2 DAIRY GOATS FOR STARTUP UPGRADING.
7. THAT ARTIFICIAL INSERMINATORS AND ANIMAL HEALTH ASSISTANTS SHOULD BE TRAINNED; THUS NEED INTENSIVE TRAINING AND FUNDING.
8. THAT FARMER NEEDS EXPOSURE.
9. THAT WE NEED OUR BRANCH IN CHEPTAIS OTHER THAN VIHIGA TO HAVE EASY SERVICE DELIVERY.
AS PER MT, ELGON DISTRICT PROFILE AS AT MAY 2006 ACTION AID, SIDA AND UNDP BOOKLET THE NUMBER OF DAIRY GOATS WAS ZERO (TABLE 12a PG 16) BUT NOW IT HAS RISEN TO 100 THIS RATION TO POPULATION IS VERY SCARING.
WITH THESE WE CAN CHANGE AND RIVITALIZE PRODUCTION THUS ENHENCING INCOME TO SMACK HUNGER. Why NOT? ‘’ONLY IF WE UNITE’’.
Isaac kwemoi
Project officer
Group kipsis/ngachi women
N/B
CAN THIS INITIATIVE FUNDED BY BILL &MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION
I think Isaac Kwemoi's statement in his last sentence above should become a byword and a theme for Heifer's programs: "Let's smack hunger."
He said it all in that phrase!!!!!!!
Dorie F.