Abstract
Smallholder dairy farmers in rural settings of sub-Saharan Africa cannot get their evening milk to markets because of several reasons. They do not have access to grid electricity to power traditional refrigeration systems that preserve their milk for market the next day. They are not able to transport at night due to safety concerns and poor road conditions, especially in the peak production rainy season, marked by high abundance of fodder. A solution involving the combination of thermization (58–63 °C for 30 s) and low-cost evaporative cooling has been shown to be effective and has been successfully tested in the hands of 30 target users in Wakiso, Kiboga, and Rakai districts of Uganda. All cooled evening milk by these farmers has successfully entered the cold chain, after assessment with the Resazurin assay, commonly used for evaluating freshness by collection centers or buyers. Based on the cooling system (EvaKuula) fabrication costs and daily evening milk sales by the early adopters, a payback period of approximately 20 months is needed for farmers to completely own the EvaKuula, in a rent-to-own business model. Work is in progress to further scale-up the EvaKuula adoption in the region.
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