Dairy and Human Development in the Tropics: Laying the foundation for equitable, broad-based growth

Equitable growth strategies for poor countries foster inclusion of the rural poor into high-value agricultural markets. Dairy production presents an opportunity for smallholder households to become more integrated into such markets while improving their nutrition.

Milk production is growing in importance in developing countries. Milk consumption in these regions is projected to increase 3.3% per year through 2020, well above the rate of population growth. Moreover, milk is the most important and ubiquitous animal product that smallholders produce. Few smallholder systems in the world have adjusted to the pressures of increasing population density and urbanisation without recourse to dairy production, as it increases household income and improves stability while furthering other high-value activities, such as intensive poultry and vegetable cultivation and small-businesses. Small amounts of nutrient-rich dairy foods can relieve both protein malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency in the most vulnerable groups - malnourished children and women in their child-bearing years. Smallholder dairy farming, which is overwhelmingly a female occupation, also empowers women, generates cash for buying extra food and sustains crop production.

The coincidence of these factors presents an opportunity in smallholder dairy that can be seized upon to lay the foundation for equitable broad-based growth in developing areas.