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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Land, Livelihoods and Food Security
Volume 8 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2024.1392020
This article is part of the Research Topic Leveraging Gender, Youth and Social Networks for Inclusive and Transformative Livestock Production in the Tropics and Subtropics View all 13 articles

Gender-based approaches for improving milk safety, value addition and marketing among smallholder livestock farmers

Provisionally accepted
Judith I. Nagasha Judith I. Nagasha 1Michael Ocaido Michael Ocaido 2Elisabeth Rajala Elisabeth Rajala 3Assem A. Hatab Assem A. Hatab 3Linley Chiwona-Karltun Linley Chiwona-Karltun 3*
  • 1 Kyambogo University, Kampala, Uganda
  • 2 Makerere University, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda
  • 3 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In the context of Uganda, this study delves into gender-based strategies aimed at enhancing women's engagement in milk safety, value addition and marketing within smallholder livestock farming. The objectives were twofold: first, to document the current practices of women in milk safety, value addition, and marketing channels; second, to examine the constraints, opportunities, and strategies related to the production of safe milk and milk products, along with accessing sustainable markets. Conducted in four sub-counties of Kiruhura district, this research employed both qualitative participatory methods and structured questionnaires, including twelve focused group discussions and twenty key informant interviews with both women and men. Notably, 217 structured questionnaires were administered. The findings illuminate that women play a central role in milk processing, water provisioning, sanitation, hygiene practices and were the primary contributors to milk value addition, particularly in the production of butter and ghee. Despite their active involvement, women face challenges in accessing adequate milk quantities, employ traditional labor-intensive procedures and encounter difficulties in marketing their processed products. Men, often the household heads, held decision-making authority over milk consumption and control the selling of milk, contributing to gender disparities. Addressing these challenges necessitates comprehensive support, including training and capacity-building initiatives for both men and women in milk value addition, credit access, and market entry. The study underscores the potential for improved women's access to milk quantities, particularly for butter and ghee production, to strengthen rural livelihoods and boost dairy production in Uganda.

    Keywords: decision-making, gender, Food Safety, Milk, Value addition

    Received: 26 Feb 2024; Accepted: 24 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Nagasha, Ocaido, Rajala, Hatab and Chiwona-Karltun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Linley Chiwona-Karltun, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, 75651, Uppsala, Sweden

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.