US dairy cooperative, Land O'Lakes has introduced its expertise to Malawi, developing micro co-ops that pool their milk for purchase by one of the country's largest processors.

The five-year programme by Land O'Lakes, supported by a grant from USAID, set up or expanded 23 milk bulking groups across the country. Farmer incomes are boosted, and they get access to productivity-enhancing inputs, insurance coverage, technical training and community prestige.

Since the programme's inception, 10.4 million liters-70% of the milk collected from the groups-has been sold to Lilongwe Dairies for processing. Lilongwe had not previously been a major buyer from the individual farmers.

The programme also helped expand the capacity of 14 private-sector input and service providers. Feed, seed, artificial insemination and other veterinary businesses grew. The providers were then linked to a dedicated customer base through these milk bulking groups, and received assistance to grow their businesses so that their offerings responded to farmers' demand-driven needs.

The fact that the programme created employment opportunities for many Malawians in the country's dairy sector also helped it attract attention and gain traction.

The micro co-op system is new for the region, and getting farmers involved took some time and training. The result was 3,400 smallholder dairy farmers increasing their incomes by 41%.