A budgetary analysis of the relative costs of establishing a standard dairy cooperative-owned milk collection centre; a case study of the Zambian smallholder dairy sector

摘要

Marketaccesshasbeenidentifiedasoneoftheforemostfactorsinfluencingtheperformanceofsmallscaleproducersindevelopingcountries(moreparticularlyinleastdevelopingcountries).Thereforetheobjectiveofthestudywastoassesstheminimumrelativecostsforestablishingastandardandviablemilkcollectioncentre(MCC)soastoboostmilkproductionandcreatemarketaccessamongthescatteredsmallscaledairyfarmersinZambia.Datausedfortheassessmentwaspurposivelyobtainedfrom19outofthe25activedairycooperative-ownedmilkcollectioncentresinZambia.nbsp;FindingsindicatedthatallthemilkcollectioncentresinZambiaarerunbyfarmersintheformofadairycooperative(one-tiercooperativemarketmodel).Inordertobeabletooperatesufficientlyandefficiently,thecooperativeneedstopayasalarytoaminimumof4workers(manager,milkreceivercumcleaner,driverandwatchman)dependinguponvolumeofmilkitishandling.Thisistheminimumhumanresourcerequiredatthebeginning,butasthebusinessgrows,morehumanresourcesandotherrequirementswouldbeneeded.Inaddition,thecooperative-ownedMCCneedstopayforelectricity,water,fuelfortransportationofmilkandtorunthegenerator.InorderforamilkcollectioncentretobeviableandsustainableinZambia,aminimumof500litresofmilkwillbeneededtobesuppliedbyfarmerseverydayintheinitialstagesofestablishment.Amarginof20-25%shouldberetainedbythecooperativeascommissionforitsoperationalcostsduringtheseinitialstages.Whenthemilkvolumeandcooperativemembershipincreases,thismarginshouldslowlycomedownto15-19%inordertoencouragedairydevelopmentandensuremoreincomegenerationbythefarmersandgroupinvestment.Inadditiontothemilkcollectioncentrebuilding,aborehole,coolertank,generator,lactoscan,milkcans,weighingscaleandbucketswillberequired.Thus,therelativecostsofestablishingastandardandviablemilkcollectioncentrewasestimatedtobeUS$116,500.AvailabilityoflandisnotaprobleminZambiaandtheGovernmentisverysupportivetoprovidefreelandforsuchcommunityowneddevelopmentwork.nbsp;Theseestimatesarecardinalforthegovernment,donorsandotherstakeholdersinissuesrelatingtointerventionsandresourceallocationtothesmallholderdairyfarmingsubsector.ThereisneedfortheGovernmentanddonorstofirmlysupportdairycooperativedevelopmentthroughtechnicalandfinancialschemes,particularlyinestablishmentandsupportofmilkcollectioncentresinformofagrant.