A DAIRY SUPPLY CHAIN FOR NUTRITIOUS YOGHURT
Ethiopia has 12 million dairy cows, but due to a lack of infrastructure, much of their milk never reaches consumers. The GAIN Access to Better Dairy project is building a sustainable dairy supply chain in collaboration with smallholder farmers and local dairies.
As lead business partner, our role at Arla Foods Ingredients is to equip the dairies with the capabilities to produce a safe, nutritious and affordable yoghurt for sale in Ethiopian markets and kiosks. The yoghurt recipe contains our whey permeate – an ingredient rich in milk minerals and lactose – to maximise the dairies’ yoghurt production and ensure a good taste and texture.
Our partners in the project – GAIN and DanChurchAid – have established other key links in the supply chain. This involves working with farmers to improve their milk quality and yield and raising public awareness of the importance of good nutrition, especially for children and pregnant or breastfeeding mothers. The Confederation of Danish Industry is contributing to the business model.
GAIN Access to Better Dairy is supported by Denmark’s development cooperation agency, Danida. In 2021, Danida granted two years of additional funding to allow the project partners to investigate further possibilities to improve milk utilisation, reduce food waste and develop a greener business model. A detailed case description is available for download.
The model developed through this project is fully documented and suitable for transfer to other markets.
UN sustainable development goals
This project specifies a contribution to SDG 2.1/2.3, 8.2/8.4 and 12.3.
FROM PAPAYA WASTE TO DRIED FRUIT SNACK
Vitamin-rich papayas are a source of income for more than 890,000 smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, but 30% of their harvest is currently lost due to spoilage. If just some of this nutritious fruit could be saved and brought to market as an affordable dried papaya snack, the benefits would be great – for the farmers, for job creation in the food industry and for low-income households where malnutrition is common.
We are participating in a public-private partnership that aims to build a supply chain to transform papaya waste into a commercial dried fruit protein bar. As product innovation partner, our role is to develop the recipes and transfer the necessary processing knowhow to local manufacturers.
Led by GAIN, the partnership includes Addis Ababa University, three Ethiopian food producers and a local agricultural engineering enterprise. The Confederation of Danish Industry is responsible for developing a viable business model.
The Danida Market Development Partnerships programme is funding the project.
UN sustainable development goals
This project specifies a contribution to SDG 2.1, 8.2/8.4 and 12.3.
PROTEIN-ENRICHED BISCUIT COLLABORATION
The Sustainable Food Partnership is a collaboration between Arla Foods Ingredients, DanChurchAid, Novozymes and other companies to develop new affordable nutrition concepts and share related knowledge and expertise.
The current focus is a project to develop a protein-enriched biscuit in Ethiopia. Produced by a manufacturer in Addis Ababa, the biscuit will contain protein from locally grown chickpeas and, later, quinoa, with whey protein as a source of dairy nutrients. Following delays related to COVID-19, the biscuit is planned for market introduction in 2022.
P4G, the global forum that supports public-private partnerships focused on accelerating sustainable development, is supporting the project. P4G has previously funded the partnership’s Sustainable Food Platform initiative to promote local production of nutritious food for people living in or around refugee camps.
UN sustainable development goals
This project specifies a contribution to SDG 2.1/2.3 and 17.17.
