Milk in your tea or coffee this morning? For many of us, milk is our daily dose of dairy alongside a cup of sweet tea or strong coffee. It’s no surprise then, that milk is one the most widely produced and valuable agricultural commodities on the planet. So much so that today, on World Milk Day (1 June), FAO and Uganda have announced a new collaboration to boost Ugandan milk exports, as part of a national drive to strengthen the domestic dairy sector and maximise its growth potential.
Today’s new country support for Uganda’s dairy sector comes at a time when the country’s estimated production of raw milk has ballooned from 1.9 billion litres in 2014 to 2.8 billion in 2021.
Despite that impressive growth, the dairy sector faces testing times ahead: supplies of raw milk suffer from strong seasonal fluctuations, processing capacity is underused, informal trade remains prevalent, quality issues limit international trade, and exports rely largely on demand from some key East Africa export markets, including neighbouring Kenya. Closer to home, household consumption of milk is low: Ugandans drink around 0.5 litre (550 millilitres) a day. This is two-thirds less than the dietary intake recommended by FAO and WHO, meaning Ugandans consume their recommended milk intake for about 2 out of the 7 days in a week.
Against this backdrop, the country’s Dairy Development Authority (DDA) embarked on an ambitious stakeholder engagement process to design a multi-year action plan – the Dairy Policy Action Plan. The Plan was adopted in August 2022 and sets out clear policy interventions and milestones over the next 5+ years to boost consumption, incentivise production, improve quality and tap into new markets.