NLF Ethiopia

According to the 2012 report of the Central Statistical Agency (CSA) the cattle population was estimated at about 52 million including 10.5 million dairy cattle. Cattle produce a total of 3.2 billion liters, of milk from about 10 million milking cows, an average of 1.54 litres per cow per day and an annual milk yield per cow of 305 litres. The country is a net importer of dairy products with import values significantly exceeding export values.

The majority of smallholder milk producers in Ethiopia sell their milk to the local market: in 2010, less than seven percent of the annual milk production was estimated to be marketed at national level. In 2009, there were 180 cooperatives involved in milk production and marketing in the entire nation, accounting for only 2 percent of the total number of agro-based cooperatives. In most of the cases, the dairy cooperatives are operating in areas that are accessible to transportation and markets. This means that a substantial amount of milk does not reach the formal markets and the majority of dairy farmers produce at a subsistence level and for the informal market.

In Ethiopia, the increased cross breeding and improved productivity of dairy cattle is gradually leading to an increased use of antibiotics and anti-parasite drugs, a comparable experience of dairy farming in India and the Netherlands. There is already evidence on antibiotic resistance in dairy cattle in Ethiopia due to extensive and inappropriate use of antibiotics.
There is a critical shortage of animal feed in the country, both seasonally and spatially, and when available it is expensive and of poor quality due to mishandling and aflatoxine contamination. Most producers also lack the knowledge of efficient utilization of animal feed resources. The feed shortage is partly attributed to the shortage of land for forage development.

Between 2017 and 2020 the Applied Research Fund (ARF) funded a project entitled Enhancing Safety and Quality of Milk in Ethiopia This project was collaboration between NLF in Ethiopia, Netherlands and India. Objective of the project was to pilot the NLF 5-layers strategy in order to improve quantity and quality of milk produced by two groups of peri-urban smallholders with zero-grazing dairy systems, as well as improving the position of women. This participatory action research combined activities at both farm- and laboratory level. In 2020 the activities were expanded with a survey on the effects of COVID-19 on the livelihoods of dairy farmers.

At farm level, special international exchange activities were organized to promote the use of medicinal plants for cattle health and improving calf management. In two communities 60 farmers were trained by international Indian experts of NLF India on preparing and using herbal preparations for the most common cattle diseases. Most of the herbal recipes consist of kitchen herbs like garlic, onion, black pepper, yellow root (Curcuma), as well as commonly known plants like Aloe Vera. For the improvement of animal management simple, easy to use solutions such as better colostrum management, calf management, hoof management and early discovery of health problems were implemented.

At laboratory level, VDFACA laboratory personnel was trained at Wageningen Food Safety Research laboratories in the Netherlands for milk quality control techniques, such as somatic cell count, tests for antibiotic residue analysis, aflatoxin residue analysis and sampling techniques. With these techniques milk quality control has been performed on samples from the farmers, showing the effects of the interventions.

Concerning awareness raising, an international expert meeting was organized by ESAP in Addis Ababa on which experiences in herbal medicine and sustainable dairy farming were shared from Ethiopia, India and the Netherlands. During the ESAP Conference August 2019, with around 600 livestock academics and researchers, NGO’s and international organizations, the farmers of the ARF project discussed their positive experiences with herbal treatments to reduce use of antibiotics and improve milk quality.