West Africa: Launch of PAOLAO Project to Strengthen Local Dairy Sector

Milk production in West Africa sustains millions of families-herders, traders, and local processors alike. This sector is also a vital source of income for women, who traditionally handle milking and the sale of dairy products. However, the steady influx of cheap imported powdered milk onto West African markets is stifling regional farm growth and deepening the region’s food dependency on external sources.

To address rising population demands and growing consumption needs, the Support for the West African Dairy Offensive (PAOLAO) project, funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), aims to support the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The initiative seeks to restructure the entire sector, protect pastoral producers’ gains, and improve food security for local populations.

Strengthening Production and Distribution Chains

The program intervenes across the entire value chain-from production to consumption-within the ECOWAS community and neighboring countries. On the commercial front, it assists regional institutions in revising customs and tax policies to incentivize agro-industries to use locally produced milk.

Technically and organizationally, PAOLAO consolidates herder structures to refine collection methods and promote best practices for transporting fresh milk under optimal conditions. Concurrently, communication campaigns encourage households to choose locally sourced products, while supply chains ensure direct delivery of West African milk to school canteens, guaranteeing nutritious meals for students.

Regional Institutional and Technical Partnership

Operational management and oversight of the project are entrusted to the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA), which collaborates with the Association for the Promotion of Livestock in the Sahel and Savanna (APESS). To provide essential support to the dairy sector, the program also leverages the expertise of three French research and rural development organizations: the Centre for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD), the Research and Technology Exchange Group (GRET), and the Institute for Research and Application of Development Methods (IRAM).

These entities offer technical assistance to modernize work methods and ensure the sustainability of regional economic circuits. As a result, herders and collection actors gain more stable market access within domestic markets.

Empowering Women and School Feeding

The project prioritizes the economic role of pastoral women operators. It ensures that female herders directly receive proceeds from milk sales, reinforcing their financial autonomy within households.

By supplying school canteens with West African milk, the initiative contributes to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2), aimed at ending hunger and malnutrition through sustainable agricultural production models.