H'lib Dzair Project
The Danone Ecosystem H’lib Dzair Project aims to contribute to transitioning small traditional dairy farming models in Algeria to more sustainable practices. To do so, H’lib Dzair provides farmers with technical expertise as well as individual audits and advice, enabling them to become more competitive and to reduce their ecological footprint.
Last updated on May 9th, 2023
A contribution from Danone Ecosystem
Why does it matter?
85% of Algerian dairy producers are smallholder farmers. Supporting them is essential to developing an autonomous and resilient food system in Algeria.
Due to a scarcity of fresh milk production, Algeria heavily relies on imported milk powder. Around 40% of milk consumption in Algeria is not covered by local production. To improve food security, the Algerian Government has recently taken steps to prioritise the development of domestic dairy production and to decrease reliance on imported milk powder.
Yet, the Algerian dairy sector faces several challenges:
- Low milk production rates, with an average yield of around 10 liters per cow per day;
- Limited technical knowledge and managerial expertise among smallholder farmers;
- Limited local production of animal feed, resulting in difficulties to manage milk costs production;
- Challenges in obtaining funding and acquiring necessary equipment for farmers.
How did we solve this?
Back in 2014, Danone Ecosystem co-created with Danone Djurdjura Algeria and GIZ International the H’lib Dzair Project, which project provides Algerian smallholder farmers with comprehensive support through 3 pillars at farm level: training, mentoring and financial guidance.
In terms of financial guidance, multiple steps were taken: (1) trials were conducted on how to reduce feed costs, (2) the project supported smallholder farmers to access credit advances from government subsidies, (3) the project supported farmers to explore new revenue streams.
H’lib Dzair has also supported development of the Algerian small dairy sector by working with actors across the entire farm ecosystem to support smallholder farmers’ activities at distribution level through the creation of 20 Milk Collection Centers.
To date (2023), the project has supported around 1400 Algerian dairy farmers and has had several positive impacts on the whole ecosystem:
- Environmental: achieved 4% reduction in carbon footprint in one year by adopting best practices [from 2017 to 2018];
- Social: 97%* of farmers reported improved living conditions for their families, and improved working conditions [*survey results conducted among 152 farmers];
- Economic: 14% decrease in feed production costs for the farmers who took part in the “Feed the Cow” pilot program.
The H’lib Dzair project has supported rural development in Algeria, strengthened local dairy value chains, making the Algerian dairy sector more resilient, and enabled Danone Djurdjura Algeria to be less dependent on imported milk.
Opportunities for other farms?
The actions adopted through the H’lib Dzair Project may be replicated on all farms that are looking to foster a circular economy, source locally, reduce feed costs and reduce GHG emissions, taking into account the availability of local by-products and nutritional requirements.
Visit the DANONE ECOSYSTEM website for more.
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