By Prossy Nandudu
The Food and Agriculture Organization is to work with the Dairy Development Authority (DDA) to boost exports of Ugandan milk and other dairy products. Through the partnership, the two parties will assess new markets, as part of the country’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the dairy sector.
The partnership that will be informed by the export competitiveness study was announced today which is also World Milk day.
The study will analyze trade flows in the dairy sector over recent years, identify dairy products and dairy by-products with export potential, and assess Uganda’s comparative advantage relative to its competitors.
Led by the FAO Monitoring and Analyzing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) programme, FAO AgrInvest, and the International Growth Centre (IGC) in Uganda and in collaboration with DDA, they will also identify the most dynamic export markets and recommend policy interventions to position Uganda as a competitive milk and dairy supplier.
“Knowing how competitive Ugandan milk is for international markets is the first step to boosting dairy exports, which is needed more so than ever. With that and the measures and investments in the Dairy Policy Action Plan, the dairy sector is set up for transformation for better production and better nutrition,”, said Marco V. Sánchez, Deputy Director of Agrifood Economics at FAO.
Commenting on the partnership, the executive director of the Dairy Development Authority, Samson Mpiira Akankiza said that Milk plays a very important role in Uganda, not just economically for the millions of households, but also provides a core foundation for proper childhood growth and health.
“As DDA we are putting a major emphasis on increasing milk consumption domestically through the School Milk Program, and expanding our export market portfolio for increased foreign exchange that translates to more earnings for our farmers,” Akankiza explained.
Adding that the dairy export competitiveness study is timely and will re-enforce DDA’s quest for additional export markets for milk.
The development comes at a time when the raw milk production has surged from 1.9 billion litres in 2014 to 3.2 billion liters in 2022. Whereas exports, although on the increase in recent years, these remain dependent on demand from key East Africa export markets, Kenya.
Moreover, the DDA estimates that domestic household consumption of milk stands at just over a half litre (550 millilitres) a day. This is 68% less than the dietary intake recommended by FAO and WHO, meaning Ugandans consume their recommended milk intake for about 2 out of the 7 days in a week.
FAO Representative in Uganda Antonio Querido said, “We are proud to announce our collaboration with the Dairy Development Authority (DDA) to boost exports of Ugandan milk and dairy products, which will contribute to the ongoing efforts to strengthen Uganda’s dairy sector.”
“As we celebrate World Milk Day, FAO is committed to supporting Uganda in its efforts to improve the livelihoods of dairy farmers and traders, and boost exports of high-quality Ugandan milk and dairy products”, Querido added.
To help achieve this target and transformation, Querido pledged FAO’s continued support to the DDA, to build on the successes of previous efforts while at the same time contributing to the development of the country’s dairy sector.
