Project profile — Supporting Dairy Business Development

• Ukraine (100.00%)

• Agricultural development:
Agricultural development (31120) (20.00%)
Agricultural co-operatives (31194) (40.00%)
• Industry: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) development (32130) (40.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (significant objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project aims to increase the growth of small and medium-sized dairy businesses in Ukraine, particularly led by women. It assists 10,000 dairy farmers in 4 of Ukraine’s larger dairy-producing regions (Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kherson, and Lviv) to improve the quantity and quality of the milk produced, establish more successful farm businesses, and increase their household incomes. Project activities include: (1) providing training to advisory services companies and participating farmers on business development and environmentally sound farm management; (2) providing technical assistance to two regional milk testing laboratories; (3) providing training to farmers on cooperative best practices; (4) providing equipment and technical assistance to dairy cooperatives; (5) developing a credit guarantee facility for farmers; (6) assisting local agricultural training institutions in developing new courses and curricula for effective and environmentally sustainable dairy farm management; and (7) facilitating dialogue between government and private sector partners to develop policies and programs that support the growth of dairy cooperatives and farms. This project builds on the results achieved by the Improving the Competitiveness of the Dairy Sector project.

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (1) more modern and environmentally sustainable business practices among small and medium-sized dairy businesses, particularly those led by women; (2) improved cooperation among small and medium-sized dairy businesses to achieve economies of scale and advance democratic values and practices at the grassroots level; and (3) improved enabling environment for small and medium-sized dairy businesses, particularly those led by women.

Results achieved as of March 2023 include: (1) reached over 23,000 dairy farmers (at least 13,500 men and over 9,800 women) through training and events promoting sustainable and modern dairy production practices. This number surpassed the project target of 10,000; (2) increased milk production of family farms and surpassed the annual milk yield per cow target by 92%. As of December 2020, cows produced more than 7,000 litres of milk annually, a significant increase since the start of the project when production was approximately 3,700 litres, and surpassing the revenue per household target (based on increases in milk yield, number of cows and higher milk prices). Households earned approximately $1,800 annually in 2014, and family revenue is now over $4,700. This is an increase of over 260%, adjusted for inflation; (3) enabled most cooperatives (12 of 16) to implement collective milk marketing in negotiating a better price and regular payment for their members. For example, Dnipro cooperatives received a similar price as large farms before the invasion; and (4) made progress in constructing the dairy processing plant. This includes completing an Environmental Impact Assessment, holding public consultations on the construction in Ukraine, and having the local district authorities approve connecting the dairy plant to the centralized water supply and wastewater disposal systems.

• Proactive disclosure