The IFC project in Pakistan has reached its final phase. During the last few years, Bles Dairies Consultancy has trained in total 50 Dairy Development Executives (DDEs) through a partnership between The Friesian and VeteffekT. These DDEs are individual professionals with a great amount of theoretical knowledge, however, they lack practical experience. Our goal in this project, where the beneficiary is Nestle, is to train the DDEs enabling them to transfer their practical knowledge to the local dairy farmers, who are in need of hands-on skills and information. This meant that, during the training sessions, the DDEs had to spend a lot of time amongst the cows and outdoor, something they were not used to at all! All DDEs have made huge leaps forward in for example the weighing of calves, milking of cows, scoring of manure and all sorts of other hands-on activities. They have really conquered their fears!
Last week, the group focused on practical assessments and the acquaintance with the writing of business plans. These BP’s are becoming more and more important for the Pakistani dairy sector, considering its rapid developing. Every year, thousands of animals from Australia and partly also from the Netherlands are imported to increase the milk production even more.
Overall, the DDEs have gained many practical insights and now it is up to them to transfer their knowledge to the local dairy farmers!
