Lato Milk, the leading dairy processor in Uganda, has launched a new initiative called “Project Prosperity” (www.project-prosperity.com).
Having spent over a decade in the region as a dairy processor, Lato has a wide range of dairy products to supply and works closely with smallholder dairy farmers – over 10,000 in Uganda and 5,000 in Kenya.
Project Prosperity aims to increase the milk yield per cow for farmers to earn more and improve their families’ prosperity. Lato’s management has been working closely with the farmers for years and is well-informed about the lack of resources and expensive financial interest rates that hinder growth. The average milk production of cattle in Uganda is about 5-6 litres per day, whereas cows in more advanced nations like New Zealand and the Netherlands can produce 20 litres or more.
“We as milk processors, feel that responsibility to help Ugandan farmers close the gaps and be able to achieve more from farming. Internationally, there are a lot of financial groups that would like to help farmers maximize their potential but they do not have a direct organised contact that reaches farmers on the ground. Project Prosperity will be the link between the farmers and the international community. Lato is uniquely positioned to connect international organizations with resources and the intent to share them with smallholder dairy farmers who lack the tools and expertise to approach them.” “Amit Sagar, the Pearl Dairy CEO said
The lost opportunity in Uganda’s dairy industry is concerning since farmers lose up to 15,000 Ugandan shillings per cow per day. Improved yields would bring prosperity to farming families, create more interest in farming for future generations and triple their income.
Sagar adds, “The average price of milk for the past years has been over 1,100 shillings a litre. The farmer today in Uganda gets paid three times what he was paid before Pearl Dairy came. This has effectively tripled their income. What we want to do now is to work with farmers to release the cost of production so that we can normalize the price of milk and be competitive in the export market. That’s why we have got a separate project for that.
Project Prosperity is a gateway to deliver this connection and plans to launch an Agri-fintech platform to digitize the initiative. The platform will help identify the neediest farmers and connect them with willing institutions ready to help. The project team has already collected data for 1,000 dairy farmers in Uganda and is delivering a pilot program to finalize the learnings about basic challenges and hidden opportunities before launching the digital application.
Akash Kumar, the co-founder of Pearl Dairy Limited said the target of the project is to triple all farmers’ annual income in the next 2 to ten years and also make Africa the food basket for the rest of the world hence bringing equal prosperity to the majority.
“As we continue to grow as we have done, we want the farmers to grow as well. This is a win-win situation for all of us. What is the win for Lato? As the farmers improve their milk production and income, we will also have a stable supply which will improve our production rates hence achieving our targets of being the best suppliers of dairy in Africa,” he said.
The farmers are opportunistic that the project will help them improve production and their income.
“My income has been constant and not improving because I have been producing the same amount of milk (20 litres) for years yet the cost of maintaining the farmers continues to go high. This means that we are not making any profits as farmers. This project will help us improve feeding for our cows hence an increase in production. I am targeting to produce at least 150 litres.” Jane Tayebwa, a dairy farmer from Kiruhura district said.
“With this project, my income will improve because milk production will increase hence we will be able to earn more,’ Kabandize Laban, another farmer from the same district said
The project has been endorsed by leading international companies and institutions globally like IFC, PSFU, SNV, universities such as the University of Southern California, and government bodies like the Dairy Development Authority of Uganda. The aim of Project Prosperity is to mitigate gaps and enhance profitability for smallholder farmers, starting with the dairy industry. Lato assures that with community support, this project can be a game-changer not only for dairy farmers in Uganda and Kenya but for other farmers throughout Africa.