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Dairy is one of the main sources of income for rural families in Lebanon, especially in the north and the Bekaa, where nearly 70 percent of dairy cows are concentrated. A 2011 FAO survey showed that about 70 percent of smallholder farmers in these two regions lived in poverty or extreme poverty, with wages among the lowest in the country. To help these smallholder farmers recover their livelihoods, which were severely affected by the 2006 war, FAO and the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture, with support from the Lebanon Recovery Fund, launched two projects to restore the Lebanese dairy sector, particularly supporting smallholder farmers in the Bekaa Valley and the Hermel Akkar Plateau. This collaboration has led to significant improvements in milk production and quality not only in these two regions, but also across the country. Improved milk quality and hygiene standards have ultimately increased milk prices and helped maintain the livelihoods and incomes of many smallholder farmers in the Bekaa Valley and the Hermel Akkar Plateau.
Georgette went home and set the table. She served a variety of cheeses and cold drinks, all with her company’s name on them. Her husband, Pascal, invited the neighbors to the table to taste the food they had made.
However, this is not always the case.
The 2006 war caused widespread damage and the Lebanese dairy industry was in trouble: large numbers of livestock died in the conflict and many dairy farms were forced to close. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, in the Bekaa Valley alone, the total number of dairy cows dropped from 25,000 to about 18,000 after the war.
Lebanon received $45 million in reconstruction funds from the international community.
The dairy sector is one of the main sources of income for rural Lebanese households and is the target of many interventions, especially in the northern region and the Bekaa region, where nearly 70% of dairy cows are concentrated and a large number of smallholder farmers who rely on livestock for their livelihoods are very vulnerable.
FAO, in partnership with the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture, has scaled up its support to small-scale dairy sectors across Lebanon through a multi-year programme funded by the Lebanon Recovery Fund.
Milk quality and production standards
All small dairy farms targeted by the program lack milk storage and refrigeration facilities. After milking, milk is stored in open metal or plastic containers, exposed to direct sunlight and road dust. The low hygiene standards in milk production and marketing pose a threat to the health of both producers and consumers.
“Our trucks don’t have refrigeration, so we can’t deliver the milk very far. The milk goes bad within a few hours if it’s not refrigerated after milking. Our milk can’t be delivered far and the quality isn’t very good. That’s why the dairy controls the price of the milk,” Georgette said.
To help farmers break away from their reliance on dairies, the project established a network of dairy cooperatives, helping them achieve economic scale of production and increasing their negotiating power over milk prices.
Forty primary milk collection centres were set up in different villages, all located at places that were easily accessible to farmers. Farmers were provided with various tools and equipment for milk testing, processing and storage – filters, pumps and laboratory machines, stainless steel containers for transport, refrigerators and refrigerated trucks – and trained in their use.
300 female-headed households and women’s cooperatives were provided with small and medium-sized dairy processing equipment and accessories for home dairy processing. As a result, the quality of their products improved significantly and demand increased immediately.
Two years later…
Currently, about 350 villages are covered by a network of 35 village dairy producers’ associations, which gives small-scale producers greater bargaining power. Large factories can no longer dictate prices.
Currently, the milk collection centres collect more than 150-200 tonnes of milk per day from about 3,000 farmers, and FAO is preparing to set up 10 more centres.
Farmers now know how to analyze and test the quality of their milk before distributing it to factories in and outside the region.
“In the past, we worked about 20 hours a day to earn enough for the next day. We sold the raw milk to the factories at very low prices, prices that were only suitable for the factories. Today, thanks to these projects, our lives have changed. I am happy to be able to send my children to school! Now, sometimes we don’t know how to meet the needs of nearby cities and the capital, because people come from all over. They like the cheese we produce,” said Georgette.
Thanks to these two projects, the quality of milk and dairy products for smallholder farmers has improved significantly. This has led to an increase in farmgate milk prices from 650-850 Lebanese pounds to 950-1100 Lebanese pounds, and an increase in the price of refrigerated milk by 100-200 Lebanese pounds per kilogram. The introduction of modern equipment and cold storage centers has benefited more than 3,000 farmers, especially women, who have increased their production capacity by about 50%.
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