Introducing the MilkIT project and its initial
results
Alan Duncan
MilkIT Outreach Meeting, Dar es Salaam, 11 December 2014
Enhancing dairy-based livelihoods in India and Tanzania through feed innovation and
value chain development approaches

Background

Background
Why feed?
– The key issue for improved productivity
Why dairy?
– Good for women
– Good for nutrition
– Makes use of existing skills/assets

New
approaches

Conventional approach to livestock
research
Technologies

traders
farmers
processors
researchers
Innovation Platform Approach

Rural
farmer
Collector Processor
Consumer
Input
supplier
Coop
Research Extension
Conventional
approach:
research to
farmer
Innovation
Systems
Approach:
research inside
Research Extension

Linking across scales to increase
reach and potential impact
District District
Village
IP
Regional Dairy
Platform
Village
IP
Village
IP
Village
IP
Action
research
Inter-
vention
Tanzania DDF
District Council
Management Team

Locations

Livestock and Fish – global value chains

Objectives

Objectives
 Institutional strengthening: To strengthen use
of value chain and innovation approaches
among dairy stakeholders to improve feeding
strategies for dairy cows.
 Productivity enhancement: To develop
options for improved feeding strategies leading
to yield enhancement with potential income
benefits.
 Knowledge sharing: To strengthen knowledge
sharing mechanisms on feed development
strategies at local, regional and international
levels

Partners

IFAD Integrated
Livelihood Support
Programme
National
Agricultural Bank
(NABARD)
District
Administration
Anchal
Heifer
SNV
Tanga Fresh

Emerging objectives
More milk sales
More actor-market linkages
More and better feed

Diagnosis  targeting
of interventions
Delivery of solutions 
technical/
institutional
Preparing for scale 
building partnerships,
sensitizing about
approach
Platformsatdifferentscales
MilkIT activity areas

Interventions

Planting forages in MorogoroPlanting forages in Tanga

Outside of ‘Ololili’Fenced ‘Ololili’
Dry season grazing reserves in
Tanzania pastoral system – end of
rainy season (June’14)
Opportunity for interventions to empower women and improve household
food + nutrition security?

Feed innovations
from Feed IPs in India
 Reduced feed wastage
– Feed troughs
– Chaff cutters
 Improving feed quality/quantity
– Concentrate feed linked with cross
bred cows/ awareness
– Dual purpose crops
– Fodder grasses

Themes for Discussion
– Innovation Platforms to identify (and act
upon) promising solutions to dairy
development
– Linking technical interventions with
market interventions
– Using feed diagnostic and prioritization
tools to target interventions