Smallholder Dairy Commercialization Programme, IFAD Impact Assessment Surveys 2017 (Kenya)

Abstract

The Smallholder Dairy Commercialization Programme (SDCP) was designed to address constraints in the smallholders’ milk sector in Kenya by increasing smallholders’ production, productivity and participation in milk markets. It pursued these objectives by training dairy groups, offering technical support for household dairy production and developing milk-marketing chains.

SDCP provided training to dairy farmers to build their enterprise, managerial and organisational skills. Aside from training, the programme also aimed to enhance dairy farming productivity and reduce production costs through demonstration, field days and grants. To strengthen market linkages, SDCP invested in improving road infrastructure and conducted additional training on milk-handling practices and value-added opportunities.

The programme identified three main areas where barriers to improving dairy income potentially operate: dairy group activities, household production and market intermediaries. Programme designers hypothesised that increasing net dairy income for smallholder farmers can occur through four primary contextual factors (1) increasing milk production; (2) increasing milk prices; (3) decreasing the costs of producing milk; and (4) decreasing the transaction costs of participation in input and output markets. They assumed that increased net income will lead to improved food security and increased participation by women and marginalised communities.

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