Organic dairy farming in developing countries

Publication date: 06/06/2017
Extent: 24 pages

Contributions by: Gidi Smolders, Wageningen University, The Netherlands; Mette Vaarst, Aarhus University, Denmark

Chapter synopsis: In countries in the global south, often referred to as ‘developing countries’, organic dairy farming faces some challenges, but also has huge potential. Even without having a premium price for organic dairy products, organic management of smallholder farms can often be beneficial in terms of low costs and integration of animal manure in crop production and use of crop residuals as feed for dairy animals. Focusing on dairy farming in Africa, this chapter examines characteristics of milk from different species such as cow, goat, sheep and camel, and considers the challenges of organic dairy production in the developing world. The chapter analyses typical dairy production systems in Africa from breeding to milk distribution and suggests some future directions for research in the area of organic dairy farming in the developing world.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2016.0005.41