The Strengthening Dairy Value Chain program in Bangladesh taught women how to take better care of their cows, and connected them to markets. One of the results was that those women recovered from political disturbances 3.5 times faster than people who weren’t in the program.
With the generous support of the Gates Foundation, CARE worked with 35,000 households in 9 districts in Bangladesh to support improved cow rearing practices, better market access, and more access to impacts. SDVC’s first phase was from 2007-2011, and phase 2 from 2011-2016. CARE worked closely with BRAC—the second largest dairy company in Bangladesh—to roll out sustainable private-sector interventions.
What did we accomplish?
- The market transformed: In 2011, SDVC producers made up 2% of BRAC’s supply chain. By 2016, they are 55%. BRAC has decided to roll out SDVC tools to their entire network (more than doubling the reach) and continue to use an SDVC-developed data dashboard to monitor and improve their services.
- Incomes more than doubled: SDVC households saw a 164% increase in their incomes since 2011, and have incomes 48% higher than non-SDVC households.
- Productivity increased 75%: SDVC households saw a huge jump in production, and comparison households did not see any increase. In fact, SDVC households produce 2.3 times more milk than non SDVC households. This also ensured a more stable milk supply for private companies that buy milk.
- Nutrition became more equal: The number of households where everyone in the family drank milk quadrupled—to 40% of families in 2016.
- Resilience increased: In periods of political unrest, SDVC producers saw a production drop by 3.8% and were able to return to pre-crisis levels in 2 weeks. Non SDVC families took 7 weeks to recover, and had production fall by 7.1%.
- Families increased assets: The value of producers’ cattle herds increased 86% (40% higher than control groups). Women especially benefitted, with a 116% increase in the number of women who owned cows—mostly bought with women’s own money.
- Women got more power: There was a 10% increase in joint decisions about how to make milk sales, and a 23% increase in men sharing burdens around cattle production.
How did we get there?
- Making market connections: CARE helped connect producers to BRAC, who helped build collection centers much closer to home for communities. There was a 50% increase in farmer’s who sold to companies instead of informally. This helps farmers produce more milk, spend less time travelling, and get higher prices for each liter they produce.
- Get supplies closer to home: CARE created Krishi Utsho—local suppliers who sell inputs for 92% less than farther away bulk suppliers. Because Krishi Utsho shop owners are local farmers, they have a better sense of the size and type of products farmers’ need, and farmers do not have to spend as much time traveling.
- Create transparency: The Digital Fat Testing machines that CARE installed in conjunction with BRAC allowed farmers and BRAC to see milk quality and pay a premium for good milk. 73% of SDVC producers sell to DFT centers.
- Improve cow-rearing practices: Producers are much more likely feed improved fodder to cattle, to buy more productive breeds of cow, and to invest in vaccinations and veterinary services. SDVC producers were likely to test 1.5 times better on knowledge of appropriate practices than control groups were.