Papers+on+the+DDF+and+local+area+innovation+platforms

[|The role of Multistakeholder processes in dairy development in Tanzania] “Increasingly, value chain approaches are integrated with multistakeholder processes to facilitate inclusive innovation and value chain upgrading of smallholders. This pathway to smallholder integration into agri-food markets has received limited analysis. An analysis of smallholder integration into agri-food markets was carried out by researchers from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Wageningen University, through a case study of an ongoing smallholder dairy development program in Tanzania, locally referred to as 'Maziwa Zaidi'.”

[|Transforming smallholder dairy value chains in Tanzania through innovation and market linkages] Coordination and communication among value chain actors can be improved through multi-stakeholder processes at different levels: farmer groups and dairy market hubs in villages, innovation platforms in districts and the Dairy Development Forum (DDF) at the national level. Strong farmer groups with strong linkages to input and service providers and to milk traders can form market hubs that help producers become more commercial and more professional. This brief highlights experiences and lessons on the evolution of the DDF as well as other multi-stakeholder processes for innovation and market linkages that are critical for transforming the country’s dairy sector.

[|Dairy development in Tanzania with local innovation platforms: When and how can they be useful?] An innovation platform is a space for learning and change, where a group of individuals with different backgrounds and interests: farmers, traders, food processors, researchers, government officials come together to diagnose problems, identify opportunities and find ways to achieve their goals. This brief suggests some answers on the usefulness of innovation platforms based on experiences from MilkIT, a three year project aimed to improve the feeding of dairy cattle in Tanzania. The lessons are drawn from the village innovation platforms to explore conditions in which they flourish and factors that contribute to their success.

[|Impact of innovation platforms and information sharing on nurturing of smaller innovation platforms: A case study of Tanzania Dairy Development Forum] Value chain actors in the dairy sector lack awareness of where and how to access information and often question the quality and reliability of information shared with them. However, innovation platforms have been established to address these challenges, especially the Dairy Development Forum (DDF) where dairy value chain actors convene annually to aggregate, synthesize and disseminate information. This is expected to have a significant impact on improving market access by smallholder producers and improving quality of milk and milk products. This study looks at the structure, conduct and performance of the DDF members and non-members, to characterize information sharing trends in the dairy industry.

[|The Tanga Dairy Platform: Fostering innovations for more efficient dairy chain coordination in Tanzania] The Tanga Dairy Platform has successfully lobbied policy makers to reduce value added tax on dairy inputs and products, and to remove limitations on urban dairy farming in Tanga city. Since 2008, it has been a sustainable example of a commodity association addressing the joint problems of the region’s dairy industry. This journal paper shows how the platform is being used by members to exchange knowledge and develop joint actions to common problems.

[|Innovation platforms to improve smallholder dairying at scale: Experiences from the MilkIT project in India and Tanzania] The main advantage of innovation platforms is that stakeholders can quickly identify key constraints by extensively using local knowledge, because local people are more likely to own the solutions they identify themselves, which increases their likelihood of success. This is a report showing how the MilkIT project used innovation platforms to catalyze innovations in smallholder dairy value chains in Uttrakhand, India and in Tanga and Morogoro regions in Tanzania.