Country Projects

Ethiopia

The Society implemented a four-year project (2020-24) in Ethiopia, funded by JOA and in partnership with Project Mercy Inc. The project aimed to promote, expand and integrate the Jersey breed into smallholder farming practices and increase the quality and quantity of milk produced, consumed and marketed, with a focus on female headed households. The project also intended to provide better nutrition for children at home and income per household from the sale of dairy products for beneficiary farmers.

From August 2023, the project faced challenges with conflict and civil unrest taking place in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. This impacted activities, though the project team showed great resilience to carry out project activities with necessary adaptations.

By project closure in June 2024, the following estimated targets were achieved:

7,353 animals bred to AI (animals received one or more artificial insemination services)
28 Artificial Insemination Technicians trained and active at project closure; a significant achievement with an ongoing conflict
6,654 individuals, including AI Technicians and farmers, received sensitisation training on the Jersey breed and its benefits, alongside training in basic animal management practices

Malawi

The Society currently oversees the three-year Malawi Dairy Growth (MDG) Phase III project (2024-27), with the support of Jersey Overseas Aid.

The MDG project works through two implementing partners: the Shire Highlands Milk Producers Association (SHMPA) – a dairy farmers association active in Southern Malawi with over 12,000 members, accounting for over 90% of milk produced in Malawi; and the Malawi Milk Producers Association (MMPA) – the national organisation that has oversight of all three regional Milk Producing Associations (MPAs) although, in practice, primarily supports farmers in Central and Northern Malawi.

The current phase is a follow up to the first and second phases of the project (2018-2024), which trained over 8,700 farmers in cattle health and fertility management and built the capacity of 28 SHMPA field staff with training and upgraded equipment. The project’s Mkakazi (‘Milk Women’) loan scheme also supported vulnerable women farmers with the cost and inputs required to establish a viable dairy farm.

This third phase of the MDG project serves a dual purpose, in supporting 3,000 farmers from the Central Region Milk Producers Association (CREMPA) with AI services, as well as to train 12 new AI technicians to provide services in the region. The work with MMPA and CREMPA is a pilot project, looking at suitable impact parameters for future wider support. The project also continues to support SHMPA, continuing the Mkakazi scheme, as well as providing technical training to SHMPA technicians and Milk Bulking Groups (MBGs).

Zambia

Zambia is the Society’s latest Dairy for Development country. Funded by Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA), the project – ‘Jersey Breed-Focussed Dairy Development in Zambia’ (JBFDDZ) – is a three-year initiative running from 2023 to 2025. JBFDDZ is implemented through sub-contracted implementing partner Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), with policy support from the Government of the Republic of Zambia Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MFL). Operating in three districts of Central and Southern Zambia – namely Choma, Chibombo and Chongwe – the project works with over 8,000 beneficiaries, including smallholder farmers, livestock technicians and Milk Collection Centre (MCC) staff.

This project aims to sustainably improve smallholder farmers' livelihoods, resilience and dairy productivity through the use of Jersey genetics, mainly through Artificial Insemination (AI) services, although bull stations have also been constructed where Jersey bulls are housed and used for mating to local cows when AI technical services might not be accessible. It also seeks to train farmers in fodder production and cattle feeding, cattle health and fertility management, and milk quality and hygiene. To enhance women’s participation in the project, the project has established women-led savings groups to support women to pool funds together to buy their own cows and purchase their own farm inputs. The project has also developed a dairy-focused management and information system to support the development of dairy breeding strategies and policies.

In August 2025, Jersey Overseas Aid approved a two-year extension to the Central and Southern region project, to start in October 2025.

In mid-2024, the Society launched its second D4D project in Zambia. The Copperbelt Dairy Expansion (CDE) project, named after the northern Copperbelt province of Zambia where the project is focused, will run for three years, training smallholder farmers in improved cattle management and milk hygiene, and supporting with improved genetics.

The main project partner is the Dairy Association of Zambia (DAZ), with support also provided by WeForest Zambia, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) specialising in forest protection, who will train farmers in sustainable agricultural practices to reduce rates of deforestation and improve biodiversity.

Country Projects

Rwanda

The Society’s connection to Rwanda dates back to 2004, when a Government of Rwanda delegation visited Jersey to discuss a collaborative effort to strengthen dairy production through the use of Jersey cattle genetics. In the following years (2005-09), the Society would support Rwanda through provision of Jersey semen for cross-breeding with the predominant local breed (the Ankole), and training of over 370 Artificial Insemination (AI) technicians. Dairy production would expand rapidly, supported by the Government of Rwanda’s Girinka programme, which by 2017 had provided over 340,000 farmers with a dairy cow.

In 2017, the Society partnered with Ripple Effect (then known as Send a Cow), an international NGO working with over 10,000 low-income farmers in Rwanda, to design a project that could reach smallholder dairy producers with training and technical support at scale. This two-year project (2017-19), Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA)'s first ever multi-year £1m+ grant, would expand awareness of the Jersey breed, greatly increase access to AI services, and increase milk production among beneficiary farmers by 50%. The project's second phase (2019-22), worked with an expanded group of partners including the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH) of Edinburgh University, and Pan Livestock of Reading University, with facilitation support provided by Rwanda Agricultural and Animal Resources Department Board (RAB) Phase II launched a national cattle database, and also continued the work with smallholder farmers, providing training and extension services.

In 2021, RAB requested a two-year feasibility study exploring opportunities for development of the RAB Songa Station, located in southern Rwanda, into a centre of excellence in dairy cattle breeding. The Society worked with an independent team of Rwandese and regional consultants to conduct this study. In 2024, the Minister of Agriculture publicly announced, as part of his priorities and targets for 2024, the continued development of the RAB Songa Station, marking a success to the project.

In 2023, the Society launched two new projects in Rwanda. The first project, ‘Ongera Amata’, translates roughly to ‘increase milk’. It primarily supports traditional, pastoral cattle-keepers with the transition towards becoming productive and profitable dairy farmers. The project also aims to improve milk quality standards, working with farmers, milk transporters and milk collection centres (MCCs) to improve and maintain the hygienic quality of milk produced to ensure greater incomes, along with a higher-quality end product. In a first for the Society, ‘Ongera Amata’ has two implementing partners, Ripple Effect Rwanda and World Agroforestry, also known as ICRAF, the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, alongside technical support provided by The Dairy Group.

The second project, ‘Amakuru ku Nka z'umukamo’, roughly translates as ‘information on cow’s milk’. It aims to strengthen national level data systems and dairy cattle breeding policy to provide national-level benefit for smallholder farmers in Rwanda with improved access to appropriate genetics and enhanced service delivery. The project works with UK-based organisations Abacus Bio, Pan Livestock, Dyneval and Paragon Vets, who bring their internationally recognised technical expertise to the project.