Nurturing Skills

Pakistan is reported to be the 4th largest producer of milk globally. Almost 80% of the milk produced comes from the small dairy farmer, who practices subsistence farming and has little knowledge of best dairy farming practices. Gradually the market is moving towards more commercialized farming, but lack of skilled labor is proving to be a bottleneck. The dairy sector has huge potential to provide employment opportunities, especially in the rural areas. We are driven to cultivate prosperity by providing trainings on best dairy farming practices and create sustainable livelihoods through increased income for farmers.

We introduced a specialized training program for nurturing skills as farm supervisors to overcome the challenges of the untrained workforce in the dairy supply chain. This Dairy Development Program served as a solution to provide employment and create micro-entrepreneurs to the unemployed youth. Funded by European Union (EU), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Norwegian government through National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) Sindh Pakistan, it led to classroom trainings that were conducted at 4 locations. Along with this, workplace based trainings were executed at multiple farms across Sindh. Currently more than 80% of the trainees have been employed at commercial dairy farms and others have started their own micro-enterprises.

We trained 1,263 skilled manpower in as farm supervisors, 35% of which i.e. 448 were women. The trained workforce has resulted in increasing the farm yields by an average of 22%. Our efforts for creating a skilled workforce to support the dairy value chain were highly appreciated by the European Union (EU).

European Union also circulated a short video about this Dairy Development Program on their official social media platforms, commending our role for dairy development to strengthen the local farming community.

A high profile EU delegation visited our beneficiary farm trainee working as a farm supervisor at a commercial dairy farm in Karachi. The European Union Ambassador to Pakistan, Jean Francois Cautain also visited our beneficiary trainees and distributed certificates for the completion of training to our trainee farmers. The ambassador appreciated EFL’s efforts for creating a skilled workforce to support the dairy value chain. The farmers have been able to increase their productivity and quality of milk by adopting the best farming practices providing proper nutrition to the animals, improving animal hygiene, providing free access to water, leveling farm ground, keeping in shade and improving the milking process.

FrieslandCampina Engro Pakistan Limited | Public Listed Company | Registration Number 0050184 | National Tax Number 2285414-2