Then came the app: modern technology improves livelihoods for women and men in Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, FAO and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are working together to build inclusive and efficient food systems that create better livelihoods and ultimately help to end hunger. The dairy industry in particular faces many challenges, with most of them directly related to the vast distances that the milk must travel for processing and the high fragmentation of milk supplies.

“Before we got the milk collection centre here, I had to cool down the milk manually,” explains Victoria from the Zhaman Zhol village in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan. “I would take many plastic bottles, fill them up with water and freeze them. These would serve as a fridge for milk. In warm months, I had to replace bottles several times until the pick-up truck would arrive. It was a lot of work and hassle.”

This changed with the creation of the milk collection centre, one of the first steps to improving the capacity and product quality of small producers like Victoria.

“When the factory announced they would organize a milk collection and cooling centre in our village, we were all against the plan: no one wanted to carry their milk all across the village. However, now that the centre is operational we truly understand its benefits for our community. Firstly, we don’t have to freeze those bottles. Secondly, I do not have to get up at night to check milk temperature. And finally, we have more time for farming, thus for our livelihoods. We are so grateful to have this centre in our village.”

Applying the power of technology for creative solutions, FAO, together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), also designed a mobile app, Collect Mobile, which helps milk processors geo-locate current and potential raw milk suppliers, most of whom are smallholder or family farmers, thereby helping to improve both production and livelihoods.

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