How dairy farmers can adhere to good practices

A farmer milks a cow. Promotion of good practices, such as use of metallic cans and not plastic ones, if adhered to, will help improve the quality of the milk produced. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

Several factors affect the quality of milk that we consume. Basic practices at farm level will improve the product

Dairy farming in Uganda is a strategic enterprise that mostly provides households with income in terms of sales realised from milk. But for better productivity, veterinary personnel and extension workers need to guide farmers on good animal husbandry practices for profitable dairy farming.

Most of the dairy farmers keep cattle breeds such as Friesian with average milk yield of 3,825 litres realised in 350 days, and Jersey with 2,970 litres, Ayrshire with 3,375 litres and Guernsey with 3,150 liters of milk in the same period.

The daily average milk yield for exotic animals varies from nine to 45 litres, especially in commercial milk herds and farmers are advised to milk them twice a day.

Challenges identified
But experts contend that the milk trade from the farmer to consumer faces several obstacles which affect quality of the product.

Juliet Sentumbwe, from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries, noted that milk quality can be compromised due to biological and chemical factors as well as poor handling.

She was presenting a paper, Factors affecting the quality of milk across the dairy value chain, during the First National Dairy Event, held September 18-19 in Kampala. It was organised by Uganda Investment Authority in partnership with Agri-Profocus and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation.

Poor quality milk usually arises from farmers using dirty containers to store milk, milking sick animals, not cleaning the udder prior to milking, and the environment around the cows being unhygienic.

The chemical hazards include residues of drugs used on the animals like antibiotics as well as detergents and deposits of heavy metals.

“There are a number of farmers and those involved in the value chain who use chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide to prolong the shelf life of the milk not knowing this chemical is dangerous to human health. But the dairy department in MAAIF usually carries out screening where we have penalised people found doing this kind of malpractice,” Sentubwe said.

Another challenge faced in the dairy value chain is in the transportation of raw milk where transporters use dirty tanks and other accessories or unclean water and chemical disinfectants to wash the tanks. This is a health hazard to people who consume the milk.

At the stage of boiling the milk, the same challenge is faced but at processing plants, the processors are keen in observing the required temperature under which milk should be heated or chilled.

Maintain quality
Other challenges include falsifying labels, failure to put production and expiry date and the retailers and distributors failing to follow the required standards.

Robert Walimbwa, a dairy technologist at Sameer Agriculture and Livestock Ltd, advised that it is better for consumers to take processed milk because of its quality. But, he added, the 18 per cent VAT imposed on packaged milk will not go down well with consumers since prices have to be increased as well.

The company gets milk from various collecting centres. especially in western and central Uganda, to make other milk products such as ghee and butter. A two per cent water content, from water added to milk, is allowed.

The contracted farmers are trained on how to observe hygiene during the milking and storage as well as advised to feed their cows adequately in order to realise the right amount and quality of milk.

Also, stakeholders at the meeting expressed fears of consumers taking milk containing aflatoxins as a result of farmers using feeds that acquire the compound as a result of poor handling.

Observe recommendations
They also urged that the transition from sale of raw to processed milk be done as a gradual process since many consumers may not afford to purchase processed milk due to its high price.

Statistics provided by Food and Agriculture Organisation showed that the per capital consumption of milk in Uganda currently stands at 23.1kgs per year against the recommended 220kg annual requirement.

Sentumbwe’s advice to those involved in the milk value chain is to always clean the udder before milking, feed the cows well with quality pasture, and keep milk handling utensils clean.

In addition, farmers should adhere to drug periods by observing the recommended time as to when cows should be milked after treating them with drugs as well as avoiding adulterating the milk with too much water.

It is noteworthy that good milk is seen from its cleanliness, freshness with less than 3.25 per cent milk fat and 8.50 per cent milk solids and the density kept at 20 degrees Centigrade.

A farmer’s experience
Felix Etyang, a dairy farmer from Kinyogoga Cooperatives, said that in 2008 farmers where selling a litre of milk at Shs150, but with the intervention of the Diary Development Authority sensitising farmers to produce quality milk, the price has since increased to between Shs500 and Shs600 a litre.

Farmers have been convinced to use recommended containers like stainless aluminum tanks instead of plastic cans that cause damage to the milk.

At their cooperative union, they established a mini laboratory where farmers’ milk is tested before it is taken to the cooler.
The farmers have been trained on milk handling and are urged to deliver their milk between 7:00am and 10:30 am to avoid or minimise milk contamination.