This case study evaluates the development of a sustainable rural dairy farming intervention funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by the Strategic Development agency (SDA), a local NGO in Armenia.
The case study assess SDA’s initial intervention in rural veterinary services and its successive transition to a more holistic programme involving market access, services and farmer skills. The ensuing partnerships between SDC, SDA and market players’ takes place in context with a growing demand for Armenian dairy products alongside a historically challenging political and economic environment that has resulted in significant divisions between urban and rural incomes and livelihoods.
Main findings
The intervention was based on technical cooperation rather than financial payments between the parties involved. The following changes took place in the field:
- At the service level, 62 per cent of surveyed farmers expressed that the health of their livestock has improved as a result of better access to veterinary services.
- Elola, the interventions main private sector partner has expanded its milk collection to more rural villages, ensuring a formal market for milk for around 2,000 rural farmers.
- Increased productivity and better milk quality has resulted in higher prices for milk and increased income for rural farmers.
Intervention description
The intervention seeks to address the cycle of low productivity and quality of milk on farms that have transitioned from state funded collective farming to small-scale farm enterprises. The intervention identifies the symptoms and deeper problems of the market and targets real and sustained change in the market for the benefit of the rural poor.
Evidence methodology
The case study makes use of a mixed methods approach using quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to provide a detailed analysis of the 'Making Markets Work for the Poor' (M4P) approach in the diary market in rural Armenia.
Useful for:
The case study highlights how key components of the market systems approach can be practically implemented into a relatively small project.