Dairy Development for farmers, processors, investors and institutions.
Have you ever led or funded a dairy project that looked promising on paper but failed to deliver? Too often, ambitious initiatives result in limited impact for farmers, missed food security goals, and disappointed communities. And for investors and processors, the same projects turn into empty barns, wasted funds, and underperforming assets.
You are serious about making your dairy project succeed. Otherwise you would not be here. That is why investors and processors, alongside leading governments, NGOs and development banks around the world, choose to work with Bles Dairies.
With more than 30 years of experience in over 60 countries, we combine global expertise with local presence. From thorough analysis to hands-on execution, we help transform underperforming or fragile projects into profitable, resilient, and sustainable dairy businesses.
So you never have to struggle again with projects that fall short. Instead, you achieve both long-term social impact and commercial success.
Bles Dairies is a family owned company with roots in dairy farming that reach back to 1854.
As a group we combine consultancy, local operations and practical farming experience. Our work spans Bles Dairies Consultancy, Bles Dairies East Africa and Bles van Benthem Farm in the Netherlands.
Together they reflect our long term vision and our commitment to strengthening the dairy sector worldwide.
Our family legacy guides how we work. We do not chase short term outcomes. We focus on progress that endures and on results that allow farms, processors and institutions to grow with confidence.
This approach is visible in our own companies. In Kenya, Bles Dairies East Africa works on the ground with farmers and processors. Our local team translates advice into daily practice and connects Dutch knowledge with local realities.
In the Netherlands, Bles van Benthem Farm shows what modern dairy farming can achieve. Developed by Bles Dairies and operated with our partner, it is a place where clients can see our methods, our results and our commitment to performance.
We innovate at every stage of the value chain. From genetics and data based herd management to feeding systems and sourcing strategies adapted to each context. Sustainability guides every project we take on and helps create long lasting impact for farmers and communities.
By combining international expertise with local professionals we deliver practical solutions in a cost effective way and support dairy sectors that want to grow with strength and stability.
To strengthen the profitability of dairy farmers through innovation, driven by sustainability.
Leeuwarden
The Netherlands
Eldoret
Kenya
We don’t only advise, we operate. Bles Dairies East Africa is a market leader in fodder and dairy inputs in Kenya, where we prove our solutions every day in our own dairy value chain.
“We believe profitability and sustainability go hand in hand. Every project we deliver strengthens both the bottom line and the sector’s long-term resilience.”
Successful dairy projects depend on the right expertise.
Without it, productivity stays low and value declines.
With the right guidance, farms grow stronger, processors gain reliable supply, and projects evolve into profitable, resilient businesses that support both food security and rural livelihoods.
If you want to explore what this could mean for your project, our team is ready to talk.
We are able to advise our clients throughout the dairy value chain. From seed to feed, and from feed to factory gate.
Advisory for dairy farms: nutrition, reproduction, fodder, herd health.
Milk quality-based payments systems, milk collection optimization, food safety programs.
Planning and management of high-quality fodder production.
End-to-end consultancy from concept to execution: barn design, infrastructure planning, operational set-up.
Technical audits, feasibility and investment studies for dairy farm or industry investments.
Curriculum design and hands-on training for technical experts and dairy development teams.
At Bles Dairies Consultancy, we know that feeling. We have seen it. Fixed it. And turned it around.
Here are a few examples of projects we have delivered for commercial partners:
In Eswatini, we expanded a commercial farm from five hundred to fifteen hundred milking cows and doubled milk production while modernising the entire operation.
In China, we directed large scale operations for Fonterra, overseeing four farms with fifteen thousand milking cows and guiding the development of two additional hubs with the same capacity.
In Azerbaijan, we delivered a turnkey dairy farm by designing the infrastructure, importing the herd, installing the parlor and supporting a cheese line that now runs independently.
You do not have to accept underperformance as part of the game. Because when you work with us, value grows again.
The milk flows. The figures rise. The business works.
From promise to profit. That is what we deliver.
It should not be this way.
At Bles Dairies Consultancy, we help strengthen livelihoods, improve food security and build resilient dairy systems.
Below are examples of development projects we have contributed to together with our partners:
In Uganda, through an IFC supported program with LATO Milk, we helped raise daily milk collection from two hundred to one thousand tons, trained fifty extension workers, supported five hundred commercial farmers and established ten Lead Farms that improved productivity across entire regions.
In Kenya, within an RVO funded consortium with partners such as Bio Foods and Safaricom, we help farmers produce high quality, aflatoxin safe milk, train small and medium scale farmers in modern dairy practices and introduce Dutch technologies that raise productivity and climate resilience.
In Ethiopia, together with SNV, we are driving systemic sector development by training dairy advisors, establishing Practical Dairy Training Farms, supporting processors with food safety systems and strengthening local consultancy capacity for long term, locally led impact.
Together, we help communities grow stronger.
Farmers earn more. And food systems become more resilient.
From ambition to impact. That is what we deliver.
Country: Eswatini
Status: Completed
Client: https://www.signature-agri.nl/
Project Scope
Bles Dairies’ Role
Key Achievements
Country: China
Status: Completed
Client: Fonterra
Years: 2015 – 2018
Topic: Farm Management & Dairy Advisory
Project Scope
Bles Dairies’ Role
Key Achievements
Country: Uganda
Status: Completed
Client: IFC, LATO Milk
Years: 2018 – 2022
Topic: Dairy Value Chain Development
Project Scope
Bles Dairies’ Role
Key Achievements
Country: Kenya
Status: Ongoing (2024 – 2027)
Donor: Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO)
Consortium Partners: Bio Foods, Safaricom, Unga Group, Africa Bioenergy Programs
Topic: Dairy Sector Development
Project Scope
Bles Dairies’ Role
Key Achievements (Achieved so far)
Country: Uganda
Status: Completed
Client: SNV, LATO Milk
Years: 2018
Topic: Dairy Value Chain Development
Project Scope
Bles Dairies’ Role
Key Achievements
Country: Ethiopia
Status: Ongoing (2024 – 2028)
Client: SNV Ethiopia
Topic: Dairy Value Chain Development
Project Scope
Bles Dairies’ Role
Bles Dairies plays a crucial role in driving systemic change through:
Key Achievements Achieved so far
Country: Saudi Arabia
Status: Completed
Client: Ministry of Agriculture, Saudi Arabia
Years: 2015 – 2017
Topic: Dairy Sector Analysis
Project Scope
Bles Dairies’ Role
Key Achievements
Country: Kenya
Status: Ongoing
Client/Partner: Bio Food Products Ltd, Lato Milk
Years: 2024 – til date
Topic: Sustainable Fodder Production and Feed Sourcing
Project Scope
Bles Dairies’ Role
Key Achievements
Country: Azerbaijan
Status: Completed
Client: Private Investor
Years: 2011 – 2012
Topic: Turn Key Large Scale Farm Development
Project Scope
Bles Dairies’ Role
Key Achievements
This project delivered a fully operational dairy farm, enhancing local milk production and processing capacity in Azerbaijan.
