Egypt – Agricultural Exports and Rural Incomes - Dairy and Livestock
Developing Reliable, Transparent Marketing Channels for Smallholder Farmers
Inefficient marketing channels, a lack of reliable market information, weak agribusiness management skills and an absence of economies of scale have historically kept the Egyptian livestock sector from reaching its full potential. Smallholder farmers rely too heavily on outdated knowledge, inefficient practices and expensive inputs, making it nearly impossible for dairy and livestock businesses to break even. Marketing channels for smallholder products are clogged with middlemen and lack transparency. Government livestock extension and veterinary services have generally ignored smallholder needs, and private services for smallholders are virtually nonexistent.
AERI-Dairy & Livestock Key Results |
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7,438 smallholder livestock producers (81 percent of whom are female) have organized into 327 smallholder farmer groups that in turn created 46 registered smallholder marketing associations (SMAs)
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30,600 direct and indirect smallholder households have earned $7.8 million in annual income
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109 dairy processors have been assisted in expanding their product mix, improving health, sanitation and quality standards and increasing profits, and have developed and marketed 12 new dairy products
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7,438 smallholder farmers have received technical training to improve herd management, animal health, product quality and business management, all leading to higher output. An additional 47,452 smallholders have been assisted through technology diffusion
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337 village business promoters (89 percent female), 309 veterinarians (29 percent female) and 309 livestock extension agents have received training to develop their capabilities, strengthen linkages with smallholders, and identify business opportunities with an end goal of enabling them to offer services on a commercial basis to SMAs
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34 veterinary campaigns have been conducted, reaching 26,778 smallholders, treating 96,484 animals, preserving productive assets and saving over $322,933 for smallholders
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To reverse these trends, ACDI/VOCA implemented the $8.3 million, four-year Agricultural Exports and Rural Incomes (AERI) Dairy and Livestock project in six governorates in Upper Egypt. AERI applied a market-driven, business-oriented approach, employing a range of technical and business-improvement strategies that focused on small producers, value-adding processors, and private and public sector service providers. The goal of the project was to increase rural incomes and smallholder productive assets.
AERI envisioned a mutually reinforcing network of processing and production businesses and supporting service organizations in the Egyptian livestock industry that increased the quality, variety and volume of animal products in local markets. Within this network, AERI created a system of interlocked, farmer-based entities linking smallholder producers to the domestic market chain. These organizations controlled and enhanced product quantity, quality and value-adding opportunities. This approach transformed the traditional, individualistic approach to production and marketing and helped farmers achieve the scale necessary to strengthen their bargaining power. As smallholders’ incomes rose, ACDI/VOCA and its partners trained smallholders to collectively reduce production costs and improve the quality and volume of their dairy and livestock products. By organizing themselves into larger input purchasing and output marketing units, smallholders achieved economies of scale to penetrate markets and link with critical technical and business support services to their mutual profit. ACDI/VOCA built on the methodologies, delivery systems, experience and institutional relationships of its previous projects in Egypt, which go back to 1980.
ACDI/VOCA also advised small-scale dairy and livestock processors and traders on techniques to help them manage their businesses, supply raw products more efficiently and expand their overall product range. This raised profits for processors and traders and increased demand for the raw products that smallholders grow. Additionally, ACDI/VOCA delivered technical assistance and business training to stakeholder firms and institutions engaged in critical business-support services, including livestock extension, feed and veterinary supplies, food processors, veterinary services and rural financial services.
In the final year of the project, ACDI/VOCA particularly targeted interventions to address several key systemic weaknesses in the marketing chains for dairy and livestock products. These included poor animal handling and transportation, and weak market infrastructure, market information systems and business linkages.
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