About Mali and its dairy industry

Mali is located in the middle of the Sahel zone and is among the poorest countries worldwide. It has 19.5 million habitants^[2]https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ml.html and a strong agriculture tradition with at least 8 million cows. A traditional Zebu cow, which is well adapted to the climatic conditions, produces only 1 to 2 liters milk per day. This is mainly because cows are kept extensively^[3]Extensive farming is generally practiced in Mali. This means that according to nomadic traditions livestock is walked for long distances to feed. The long walking distances and limited availability of feed and water sources (during the dry season) keeps the production of milk low. This will not be the case if the cows are kept stationary in an own farm. and serve as a kind of insurance, as cows can be sold easily in case of an urgent need for money. In addition the number of cows (and not the amount of milk produced) is a symbol of wealth of the owner of the cows. Because there is no real local fresh-milk industry, the production of milk is not the main focus of the owner of cows. Milk is traditionally produced for family consumption and a surplus is sold through informal markets locally. Mali imports milk powder for at least 80 million Euros per year^[4]Direction nationale de la statistique et de l’information (DNSI) de Mali.

Mali is ranked 176 out of 187 ranked countries in the Human Development Index^[5]http://hdr.undp.org/en and more than 50% of its population lives below the poverty line of USD 1.25 per day^[6]http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/population-living-below-125-ppp-day. Life expectancy is with 55 years very low and only 3% of the population is older than 65 years.

In 2012 a military coup destabilized the political system of Mali. This gave extremists the possibility to capture important cities in the North of Mali. The political situation got stabilized after a French led military intervention in 2013 and continuous presence of UN forces in the North of Mali.

Mali generates a GDP per capita of USD 1’100 and 80% of the population works in the agriculture sector, which contributes to 38.5% of the GDP^[7]https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ml.html.

A traditional farmer family in rural Mali owns 5 to 20 cows and cultivates staple food. The majority oft he harvest and milk is auto-consumed or sold via the informal sector in limited hygienic quality.

It has been shown through different projects that food safety and prosperity can be improved within local dairy industry^[8]Bonfoh, B., et al., 2005. Operational plan for services to small-scale milk producers in peri-urban of Bamako (Mali). Etudes et rechersches sahéliènnes, 12; 7-25..