Rising commodity prices around the global are providing a backdrop against which investment in agriculture in developing countries is more conducive than ever before. The dairy sector is no exception; in fact, dairy prices, starting in late 2006, were among the first commodity prices to rise and the structural factors underpinning these increases, in particular the elimination of export subsidies, will maintain prices at relatively high levels over the medium term. Consequently, it is an opportune time to organize this workshop which focuses on the development of a regional strategy for smallholder dairy development.
In anticipation of generating guidance on best practices in sustainable smallholder dairy development that feed into the development of an effective strategy, lessons learned in the region need to be reviewed and analyzed. These lessons need to identify possibilities for increasing productivity, scaling up and/or replication of specific models and to identify specific entry points for the various stakeholders, whether they be producers, processors, policy-makers, or donors.
Both FAO and the Animal Production and Health Commission for Asia and the Pacific (APHCA) have a long standing commitment to smallholder dairy development and aim to provide regional guidance to stakeholders, through the identification of contextually �appropriate� policies, programmes and activities on sustainable development of smallholder dairy sectors. The organization of this workshop, financed partly by the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), which combined the considerable expertise of over 50 experts from 17 countries around the region, shaped the regional strategy and investment plan for smallholder dairy development.
The approach for the strategy development process needed to be practical, based on lessons and input from the region, bankable and actionable; a roadmap enabling localized, targeted and tailored investment approaches. It needed to be a two-tiered and dual approach, emphasizing the importance of regional knowledge networking and resource mobilization that feed into national and localized intervention, while distinguishing between immediate and medium-term action.
The following document highlights the process and supportive information generated to craft the regional strategy. It is our hope that the information in the proceedings and the investment opportunities outlined in the strategy framework itself, which was finalized subsequently to the workshop, will set the stage for looking forward in terms of resource mobilization for the sector.
He Changchui
Assistant Director-General and
FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific
