Malian Venice, Mopti, hosts, from the 28th to the 30th of this month, the 16th edition of World Milk Day placed this year under the sponsorship of Bocar dit Demba YATTASSAYE, CEO of Wad Motors and native of the region. It is the theme “ good governance for a better competitiveness of local milk through the improvement of dairy productivity ” which was retained for this flagship activity which is a recognition and encouragement in Mopti, a breeding region by Excellency.
According to the Advisor to the President of the Permanent Assembly of the Chambers of Agriculture of Mali (APCAM), Siriman SAKHO, the choice of Bocar dit Demba YATTASSAYE is far from being fortuitous. Before explaining the reasons for this choice, he specifies that it is a unanimous decision of the players in the sector. Also, he justifies: the Godfather is a person invested in the sector of the breeding; he has a passion for this activity; it has a history from generation to generation for this livestock sub-sector; he is a native of the region; he has invested a lot in his native region; he is endowed with extraordinary generosity and a great spirit of sharing; finally, he has a heart for the world of this sub-sector, because he came from there.
As for the objective of the relocation of the celebration of World Milk Day in Mopti, Mr. SAKHO explains that it is a question of mobilizing the skills, human, financial and talents of the region to put them to the fore. dairy production development service. Bocar says Demba YATTASSAYE has all the qualities and capacities to play the role of leader in this strategy, he argues.
The organizers report several activities on the program for the celebration of this 16th World Milk Day. They cite, among others, visits to dairy farms, milk processing units; the organization of a caravan in the town of Mopti and Sévaré on the promotion and consumption of local milk; the distribution of 5,000 liters of milk to orphanages, widows of military camps, schools, mosques, churches and internally displaced persons.
The icing on the cake, we are told, the breeders of Mopti will receive 1,000 doses of artificial insemination of the Montbéliard breed to improve milk productivity.
As a reminder, the idea for World Milk Day comes from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Each year, it is celebrated on June 1. Thus, the aim is to celebrate milk in all its aspects: nutritional, economic, organizational, for a targeted strengthening of production, processing, distribution and consumption.
In the eyes of its initiators, such a day also makes it possible to assess the contribution of the dairy sector to improving the nutritional status of populations, its contribution to the local economy (job creation, fight against poverty) and industrial development.
The development of the milk sector in our country is hampered by internal constraints. Due to the large number of herders practicing grazing and transhumance, developing large-scale collection seems difficult, but not impossible. In addition, State support policies for the sector have so far been inadequate or even non-existent. Also, growing insecurity puts the mortgage on livestock, and therefore on milk production, in this case in the region of Mopti where World Milk Day is celebrated this year.
In addition to these internal factors, there is a hostile international environment. Indeed, dependence on imports is real and rooted in the habits of consumers and processing industries.
However, helped by NGOs, and sometimes by Official Development Assistance, certain breeders are mobilized to collect, process and market their milk. Thus, they themselves take charge of supplying secondary towns with quality local dairy products. The creation of collection centers and mini artisanal dairies allows them to be competitive with regard to imports. They are also organizing themselves so that their voice can be heard better with political leaders.
BY BERTIN DAKOUO
Source: Info-Matin
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