Determinants of farmers’ decision to process milk among dairy farmers in Mbarara district Uganda

Abstract

Milk is one of the most produced agricultural products worldwide. Milk production in Uganda has increased from 1.93 billion liters in 2014 to 2.5 billion liters in 2018 with South West milk shed contributing the highest (42%) of the public milk production compared to other regions. On estimation, 70% of the population consume milk once weekly and 36% can afford milk daily. This means the production of milk exceeds its consumption thus, excess milk has to be sold. There is need for dairy farmers to process the milk before sale. The objectives of this study were to examine the methods of milk processing and factors that influence the decision to process milk among dairy farmers in Mbarara district, Uganda. Data were collected from a sample of 80 dairy farmers. Purposive and random sampling were used to identify the farmers engaged in dairy farming as well as milk processing. The data was later analyzed into descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis. Results from the study showed that farmers who are likely to process milk are those affiliated to groups, have access to credit, have access to electricity and their farms are near all-weather roads. The findings also showed that most farmers sell processed milk and process milk mostly through the traditional means. This study recommends that more farmers be encouraged to process milk before sale as a way of increasing their income