Milk, in its raw form, has a short lifespan and limited market value. But transformed into yoghurt, local cheese, or other dairy products, it becomes a livelihood – a business, a source of income, and a pathway out of vulnerability. That transformation was at the center of YARAC’s Capacity Building Training on the Processing, Preservation, and Marketing of Dairy Products.
The training brought together 50 participants from Kihang-Buhit Community in Bassa LGA, Plateau State – a deliberate mix of women, youth, herders, and persons with disabilities. The objective was clear: expand income opportunities by equipping participants with practical skills in dairy value addition and improving their access to local markets.
A Training Built for Real Life
This was not a lecture series. It was a hands-on, practical program designed to put skills directly in participants’ hands. Topics covered included:
Hygienic milk handling and safe processing methods
Production of value-added dairy products such as local cheese and yoghurt
Preservation techniques to reduce spoilage and extend shelf life
Basic marketing, pricing, and customer engagement skills
Results That Reached Beyond the Classroom
The impact of the training was felt immediately. Women and youth left the sessions with greater confidence to start small dairy businesses. Participants developed a sharper understanding of quality, hygiene, and food safety standards. But perhaps most significantly, the training strengthened economic interdependence between farmers and herders — reinforcing cooperation rather than competition, and opening new pathways for diversified household income.
When herders see farmers as business partners rather than rivals — and when both groups have new economic reasons to work together — the dynamics of conflict begin to shift. Dairy value addition is not just good economics. In communities navigating farmer-herder tensions, it is also peacebuilding.
By turning milk into higher-value products, communities are not only improving nutrition and household income — they are building the economic resilience that sustains peace. This initiative is supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through the SPRING Programme in Nigeria.