Azage Tegegne

In: UA Magazine 9 - Financing Urban Agriculture

The Ada'a-Liben Woreda Dairy and Dairy Products Marketing Association was established in 1998 in Debre Zeit town, 45 km southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The association was established with 34 founding members. The main objectives of the association are to minimise the high transaction cost for the sale of milk and reduce seasonal price fluctuations. The milk collection and marketing activity started in January 2000, and over the last few years, the association has made significant progress. Currently there are 428 full members composed of 245 male and 183 female farmers. In addition, 181 non-member dairy farmers supply milk to the association. The members of the association have a total of 1,716 dairy cows and a capital of over 500,000 Birr. The number of milk collection sites has increased to seven around Debre Zeit town. The association has created job opportunities for 25 regular staff. Recently, the association purchased two coolers with 25,000 litres capacity. The current milk collection has increased to 5,500 litres per day or about 175,000 litres per month. The major source of finance has been contributions from members, sales of milk and support from a number of government offices, NGOs and international organisations.