HENOK TADELE HAILE – Dutch dairy farmers are famend the world over, each when it comes to the standard and amount of milk produced. Nonetheless, since 2019 they’re more and more sad as a result of their authorities’s plan to halve the nation’s livestock sector. Whereas, Ethiopia, with loads of land, and higher funding local weather with much less regulatory bottlenecks, is so trusty of milk that its inhabitants solely drinks a mean of 19 liters of milk a 12 months. Bringing the Dutch farmers to Ethiopia will resolve each nations’ issues.
Right here is why: In a bid to fulfill robust EU greenhouse fuel emissions targets, defend biodiversity and restrict agricultural air pollution within the Netherlands, the Dutch authorities has give you a coverage to halve the nation’s livestock sector by a 3rd.
Therefore, to achieve the goal, and defend biodiversity within the polluted countryside, the Dutch authorities is aggressively working to scale back the general nitrogen, ammonium, methane, Phosphates and nitrous oxide emissions by 2030.
In keeping with the farmers’ estimate, the federal government’s plan over the subsequent ten years will lower the variety of dairy farms within the Netherlands by 33 p.c, from 16,000 in 2018 to roughly 10,600 by 2030.
The Dutch authorities can also be planning to purchase up and shut down virtually 3,000 farms in a bid to fulfill robust EU greenhouse fuel emissions targets. In keeping with Wageningen College’s financial mannequin, on account of the federal government coverage, the variety of dairy cows will fall to simply below 1.5 million over the subsequent ten years.
There’s a real concern that the federal government cap of on-farm emissions of nitrogen and phosphate will restrict farmers’ means to develop their operations.
Therefore, the federal government’s plan has severely infuriated Dutch farmers and saved them so sad that, during the last three and half years, in an try to be heard by their governments and thwart the nitrogen regulation, livid Dutch livestock farmers have used their tractors to dam roads and occupy public areas and burning torches. They even dumped slurry on the dwelling of the minister for nature.
In October 2019, hundreds of Dutch farmers created 700 miles of site visitors jams by driving their tractors to The Hague, the Dutch administrative capital metropolis.
In 2000, there have been virtually 30,000 dairy farms within the Netherlands and 1.5 million complete cows, however by 2020, there have been simply fewer than 16,000 dairy farms with 1.59 million complete cows, in accordance with Statista.
Wageningen College expects the development to proceed, whereas cow numbers are anticipated to say no to 1.48 million. Ethiopia is a big nation with a land space of 1,104,300 sq km, which makes it 27 occasions greater than the Netherlands because the latter solely has 41,543 sq km of land space.
By way of inhabitants, with over 120 million folks, Ethiopia is the second most populous nation in Africa. Nonetheless, its inhabitants is among the many most milk thirsty on the earth. A median Ethiopian solely drinks 19 liters of very low high quality milk, whereas the world customary is 180 liters a 12 months each year.
In contrast with its neighbors, a mean Kenyan consumes 110 liters of milk yearly, representing a mean of 300 ml per capita per day.
The reason being that the dairy sector right here could be very backward. Lack of information and abilities for hygienic manufacturing and processing of milk and dairy merchandise are additionally the key considerations for the dairy trade.
Therefore, the sector is fraught with seemingly countless issues throughout the worth chain, together with extraordinarily low productiveness, foodborne pathogens with potential well being issues for shoppers.
Poor animal well being and unhygienic manufacturing environments usually contribute to on-farm contamination with microbiological hazards all through the worth chain.
In keeping with Guarantee Ethiopia, an Addis Ababa College analysis challenge on the Ethiopian dairy sector, sources of contamination embody milk dealing with tools with unsanitary design, improper milk storage circumstances, and unhygienic milk transportation.
All these challenges contribute to microbial contamination of milk and dairy merchandise, which will increase the chance of foodborne ailments together with the prevalence of Salmonella enterica, excessive ranges of micro organism, excessive coliform rely, generic e.coli, antimicrobial resistance amongst others. The dietary high quality and adulterants of uncooked milk, pasteurized and cottage cheese are very low high quality.
Cooperation between Ethiopia and the Netherlands is a key to fixing each nations’ issues. Bringing the Dutch farmers to put money into the dairy sector in Ethiopia, which has an enormous marketplace for high quality milk, with far much less competitors and minimal regulatory bottlenecks, will resolve their downside. No robust EU greenhouse fuel emissions targets right here.
Alternatively, Ethiopia is appropriate for dairy farming, as the vast majority of land in Ethiopia has a temperate local weather as a result of its excessive elevation. Ethiopia has an elevated central plateau various in peak from 2,000 to three,000 meters above sea degree which could be very appropriate for dairy farming.
Therefore, Dutch funding in livestock sector right here may even resolve Ethiopia’s dire milk scarcity, deal with meals safety and enhance meals security.
Supply: newbusinessethiopia
