Trust Dairy program comes to a successful conclusion

Helping smallholder dairy farmers in India operate more sustainably and profitably

Our Trust Dairy project, that kicked off in 2021 came to a successful conclusion in 2024, achieving all its KPIs and helping thousands of smallholder dairy farmers in India operate more sustainably and profitably.

In India, 25% of households are engaged in dairy farming – most as small and marginal farmers. While India has the largest bovine population in the world, milk productivity per animal is quite low, leading to low profitability. The Trust Dairy Project aims to ensure sustainable and profitable dairy farming in India through a collaboration between Solidaridad, Nutreco, Govind Milk and Milk Products and the Baramati Agriculture Development Trust. It aspires to create a robust framework for small dairy farming based around the adoption of sustainable and economically feasible modern dairy farming technologies, to help small-holder farmers produce high-quality, safe and hygienic milk with a lower environmental footprint while achieving a living wage. It focused on enhancing productivity, animal health, fertility, nutrition and animal welfare.

 

The numbers tell the story of the many milestones the Trust Dairy team achieved! They trained 1525 dairy farmers from 89 villages on Good Dairy Practices. The training programs covered a wide spectrum of topics, including 1447 sessions on farm management and loose housing, 1140 on nutrition management and 900 sessions on disease management.

They also included specific outreach to women through 160 one-to-one sessions and popular training programs focused on dairy farm management and women intended to empower women dairy farmers.

All of this training made a big difference in productivity and profitability. The project’s model farms saw, on average, a 14% increase in milk yield per cow and a 42% increase in monthly income. Putting a higher priority on cattle well-being also significantly reduced subclinical Mastitis cases.

The project also had major planetary impacts. The team encouraged farmers to install biodigesters for domestic use. This led to over 700 being installed, promoting sustainable energy practices, reducing dairy farmers dependency on non-renewable energy sources, and providing them with a reliable and environmentally friendly energy solution for their household needs. All in all, Trust Dairy reduced the average carbon footprint per kilogram of milk by 14%. The farmers are also able to use the slurry produced by the biodigesters as organic fertiliser on their fields.

Trust Dairy also had a technology aspect. The team deployed new tools to promote better and more sustainable farm management, including the Cool Farm Tool, Mycomaster Plus NutriOpt Onsite Advisor and Formulation as a Service. In final phase of the project, the team explored the possibility of working with the Nutreco India Dairy technical team to create the fundamentals of GHG emissions control by deploying advanced Nutreco dairy farm sustainability tools. The project partners also introduced the Solitrace traceability tool to bring increased visibility and transparency to the dairy supply chain. The tool captures the quality and sustainability practices adopted by milk processors and producers and makes this information available to consumers through a QR code on milk packaging.

Trust Dairy’s success suggests that the team has created a model that benefits producers, suppliers, buyers, and the environment. We believe that implementing this model further would be a proactive step towards sustainable and climate-smart dairy practices.

Trust Dairy also had a technology aspect. The team deployed new tools to promote better and more sustainable farm management, including the Cool Farm Tool, Mycomaster Plus NutriOpt Onsite Advisor and Formulation as a Service. In final phase of the project, the team explored the possibility of working with the Nutreco India Dairy technical team to create the fundamentals of GHG emissions control by deploying advanced Nutreco dairy farm sustainability tools. The project partners also introduced the Solitrace traceability tool to bring increased visibility and transparency to the dairy supply chain. The tool captures the quality and sustainability practices adopted by milk processors and producers and makes this information available to consumers through a QR code on milk packaging.

Trust Dairy’s success suggests that the team has created a model that benefits producers, suppliers, buyers, and the environment. We believe that implementing this model further would be a proactive step towards sustainable and climate-smart dairy practices.