Promoting private sector investment in Mozambique's dairy production and infrastructure

Through the USDA Mozambique Dairy Development Program, we linked 4,629 smallholder farmers to the commercial dairy value chains in Maputo, Sofala and Manica, and trained 17,392 farmers on improved agricultural techniques and management practices. By the end of this Food for Progress initiative, the value of locally-produced, processed milk climbed from U.S. $112,000 per year to $5.9 million, increasing incomes and making rural families more food secure. Smallholder farmers, businesses, the private sector, NGOs and Mozambique's government now recognize dairy as a sector with high potential. By 2016, almost 20,000 farmers were supported with dairy and animal traction training, 10 cooperatives and eight milk collection centers were established, and at least $6 million in private and public investment was leveraged for the sector.