Determinants of post-harvest milk losses among milk producers in Tanzania
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Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ASRIC Journal on Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Despite the Tanzania’s programmes that aimed at improving infrastructures for milk and milk products, milk losses
continue to be substantially high. The paper evaluated the determinants of post-harvest milk losses at the milk
producers in Tanzania. The study adopted the cross-sectional research design whereby data were collected from 370
household heads and 38 Farm Managers in both the dry (June to October 2021; June to September 2022) and wet
(November to December 2021; January to May 2022) seasons. Generally, study findings showed that milk was mainly
lost through spillage, spoilage and contamination. In addition, Generalised Linear Mixed Model results showed
existence of significant associations between location (Adjusted Coefficient (AC) = -0.80; 95% Confidence Interval
(CI): -1.28-0.31), cattle keeping systems (AC = -0.75; 95% CI: -1.38-0.11), market price (AC = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.23-
1.10), transport means (AC = -0.69; 95% CI: -1.29—0.10) and spillage. Additionally, washing cow’s udder before
milking (AC = -2.10; 95% CI: -3.70-0.49), water used for washing milk utensils (AC = -1.302; 95% CI: -2.43—0.17)
and storage equipment (AC = -1.26; 95% CI: -2.47—0.05) were significantly associated with spoilage. Therefore, the
Tanzanian government needs to improve extension services and workable strategies to minimise milk losses.
Description
Research paper
Keywords
Households, Milk Producers, Post-harvest Milk Losses, Tanzania