Tanzania milk quality
Developing analytical and advisory networks to improve milk quality from smallholder dairy farms in Tanzania.
The challenge
Smallholder dairy farming systems contribute around 80% of milk production in Tanzania, with a significant role in improving the livelihood of farmers and poverty reduction through income generation and creation of employment.
However, due to the technical barriers they face, smallholder producers and processors do not attain the required standards for the regional and international milk markets.
Dairy companies estimate that each small milk collection centre (serving 3-5 villages) loses 50 litres of milk per day as a consequence of contamination, spoilage associated with poor storage conditions and deliberate adulteration; this represents 5-10% of total production and losses under some circumstances can be 40% of production.
There is low usage of novel technologies and practices that would ensure high quality milk production, processing and marketing.
The objectives
- to develop and test mid infra-red spectrometer and mobile phone camera technologies to analyse milk quality in smallholder dairy production systems
- to identify the optimal pattern for deployment of different levels of equipment (with different capabilities and costs) at milk collection centres, dairies and reference labs
- to strengthen and facilitate adoption of milk quality diagnostic techniques by processors at milk collection centres and processing dairies
- to develop an app and cloud-based data platform to promote information on milk safety standards and marketing along the dairy value chain
Related content
Dairy Research and Innovation Centre
Find out more
Dairy Research and Innovation Centre projects
Learn more