Milking benefits

The China Raw Milk Support Program, initiated by the major food processing and packaging service provider - Sweden-based Tetra Pak - has a lot to show after one year of operations.

The program, a strategic partnership between Tetra Pak China, Renmin University of China (Renda), and the Dairy Association of China, covers three key areas: the establishment of an academic research center, study of China's dairy industry, and training for local dairy farmers.

Tetra Pak is the largest processing and packaging equipments and services provider for China's dairy businesses, with clients including Yili, Mengniu and Sanyuan.

The Renda-Tetra Pak Dairy Research Center was set up in January and has been running smoothly, thanks to financial support from Tetra Pak and professional resources, involving staff, labs and technologies, from the prestigious Chinese university.

Two research reports, a 2008 Development Report on the China Dairy Industry and a Study on Organizing Models for China's Dairy Industry have been published.

The Renda-Tetra Pak Dairy Research Center has provided training for more than 100 frontline officials in charge of dairy farming from nearly 60 counties and cities, helping to improve local policy implementations and regional economic developments in dairy farming.

Tetra Pak China has also implemented the Dairy Farmers School project in collaboration with the Dairy Association of China. It provides lectures and practical instruction at farms, reaching more than 1,800 dairy farmers across eight provinces and autonomous regions.

The school project also created a TV series on dairy farming which aired on China Central Television in August. To date, an estimated 41 million people have viewed the program.

A CD-ROM version of the series and a specially compiled manual on dairy farming in northern China were also provided to farmers as a part of the training.

"The sustainable growth of the dairy industry should begin at the most important, though vulnerable, part of the value chain, and ensure a balanced development of all of its parts," says Hudson Lee, Tetra Pak China president, adding that the company has paid increasing attention to raw milk source development and will continue to work closely with the China dairy industry.

On Nov 25, Renda-Tetra Pak Dairy Research Center held a forum in Beijing in the wake of issuance of the Outline for Neatening and Reviving the Dairy Industry, which is jointly compiled by 13 government agencies, involving the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Agriculture.

The forum conducted a wide range of discussions concerning new policies and suggestions on how to revitalize China's dairy industry, calling for a concerted effort by all stakeholders to use corporate social responsibility to guarantee sustainable development of the sector.

(China Daily 12/08/2008 page8)