Farmer-Processor Relationships in the CIS Dairy Sector: Key Findings from the Sidcisa Research Project

The dairy sector is an important component of rural economies in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), providing vital employment and income, in an environment of weak social security and scarce job opportunities. Dairy farming in the CIS encompasses a wide diversity of farms: from 1 and 2 cow units, selling via village collecting stations, which provide an important subsidiary income for vulnerable groups, particularly the elderly, up to ‘super-large’ corporate farms, some of which have witnessed significant recent investment and control thousands of hectares. The Supporting the International Development of CIS Agriculture (SIDCISA) project has sought to understand the Supply Chain Relationships (SCR) of this diverse range of commercial milk producers. In particular we seek to analyse the degree of satisfaction with SCR and analyse the linkages between procurement practices and satisfaction, growth and investment. As far as we are aware this is the first comprehensive, cross-national survey of dairy farming in the CIS. This paper presents an overview of key findings from survey work conducted in Armenia, Moldova and the Dnepropetrovsk region of Ukraine. A more detailed presentation of the context of the study and results are available elsewhere.