MoreMilkIT - Uncertainty in milk production study

More milk by and for the poor: Adapting dairy market hubs for pro-poor smallholder value chains in Tanzania (MoreMilkIT)
The MoreMilkiT project aims to achieve inclusive growth and reduced poverty and vulnerability among people with dairy- dependent livelihoods in selected rural areas in Tanzania. The project is primarily targeted at pre-commercial marginalized smallholder cattle-keeping men and women who do not currently participate fully in dairy value chains, The data for the study was collected in August 2016 at one of the MoreMilkIT project sites, Lushoto district, located in the north of the Tanga region in the eastern milk shed. The study relied on representative smallholder dairy farms as study units. Farmers who undertake commercial milk production and own the dairy enterprise were the primary criteria guiding the selection of representative dairy farmers for each gender category. Farmers were also selected based on their willingness and ability to provide accurate and substantial enterprise data. Impact of risk on cash flows was examined for a single cow for one lactation period (300 days), and the impact of uncertainty on investment decisions was determined using capital budgeting methods.

This study was supported by NWO-WOTRO through the LIQUID project and Irish Aid in Tanzania through the MoreMilkiT project. The authors are also grateful to the dairy farmers who provided the data for the study.