Travel report by Adrien Lefèvre, milk producer and Vice-President of Fairefrance, who travelled to Burkina Faso accompanied by his Belgian colleague Erwin Schöpges, President of EMB and Fairebel (19-26 October 2018). Aim of the trip supported by Oxfam-Solidarité: Support for "mini dairies" in Burkina Faso and development of the fair local milk brand "FaireFaso" to strengthen local producers.

After an 8-hour journey, arrival in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso. Total immersion as soon as we arrive at the airport, where we meet local friends who Erwin has known for many years.

Day 1: Press conference with Belgian media. Location Ouagadougou, headquarters of National Association of Mini-dairies and Local Milk Producers of Burkina (UMPL/B). Thereafter, visit of a family farm in Koudougou with a herd of 36 zebus and a mini-dairy that processes the milk collected on the farm as well as in a dozen neighbouring villages.

We were able to speak to Ibrahim, president of UMPL/B on the issue of funding of the Bobo Dioulasso mini-dairy in the west of Burkina Faso by FaireFrance. There are already 3 mini-dairies processing milk under the FaireFaso brand.

Day 2: Sunday afternoon, Erwin's friend Mamadou takes us on a tour of Ouagadougou. This was also an opportunity to better understand the local political reality where a recent revolution reached the point of setting the National Assembly on fire in 2015, following a disagreement between the people and the President who was looking to amend the constitution in order to remain in power indefinitely. The situation in Burkina Faso is much worse than one can imagine, lobbies and interests are everywhere and dumping does not affect the dairy sector alone.

Day 3: Two meetings and interesting exchanges with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Embassy of the European Union. We then head to the other end of the city to the UMPL/B and fairefaso headquarters for a budgetary meeting and to get organised for "72h of local milk", an important local event. Funding and support are a constant struggle...

On the way back, we stop at the Ouagadougou livestock market. Interesting images and discussions with farmers raising animals for meat and finishing who are not part of the mini-dairies and Oxfam networks.

Day 4: Survey on milk powder – product of European surpluses – it is found all over. Very often, it is milk powder enriched with vegetable oils (notably palm), which are much cheaper than fat of animal origin. As it is considered a 'processed' product here in the coastal countries of West Africa, this powder is not taxed like 'agricultural products' imported to West Africa (taxed at only 5% as compared to about 25% to 30% for imported agricultural products). This loophole is thoroughly exploited by multinationals (ARLA, NESTLÉ, DANONE...) who engage in ruthless dumping.

Meeting at 16h with Oxfam at their offices to discuss the future and support strategy for fairefaso and the mini-dairies. Thereafter, meeting at 18h30 with the French Development Agency which is supported by the French government and provides significant funding to local NGOs.

Day 5: Administrative day to write this report, send photos, videos, etc. Rest because tomorrow is the main event of "72h of local milk" – there will be journalists, we have a full agenda, and we will also be intervening separately on a number of occasions.

Day 6: Start of "72h of local milk".  On this first day, journalists from different Burkinabe media were present. The Minister for Youth came and met us during the debates. At noon, I left with Oxfam and SOS Faim to speak post the screening of the film "The Milk System" at the University of Ouagadougou for students specialised in animal husbandry. The screening of this film that denounces European surpluses and the fact that no farmer in the world is able to make a decent living from milk production, irrespective of herd size was followed by a long debate that was very interesting for us and for the students.

Day 7: We leave for the second day of "72h of local milk". This time, the session is based on an exchange between West African and European producers. Surprise visit by the Minister for Animal and Fishery Resources, who had some invigorating and positive comments for the event. In the afternoon, we were able to discuss the future of fairefaso with Oxfam and with Sidibé, who manages the Bobo Dioulasso mini-dairy supported by us.

Return to our lodgings, packing bags and a final shower (40°C today) before heading to the airport. Boarding and take-off around 22h for a 6-hour night flight.

Adrien Lefèvre, Vice-President FaireFrance

Video Burkina Faso

Photos Burkina Faso

The situation of farmers in Europe is well known and most farmers can feel it first hand every day, especially when they have to pay bills. We farmers do not want to accept this anymore, but none of us can change anything on his or her own. We must reach a situation where we stand together and can show that it is not just a few farmers who want change.

Through its work, the European Milk Board (EMB) has managed to bring attention to the challenges in dairy farming and prevent the situation from becoming even worse. At the April General Assembly of the EMB, an overwhelming majority of the organizations present decided to pursue the proposal tabled by Norwegian Bondesolidaritet to build solidarity among farmers and between consumers and farmers. This should complement ongoing and planned actions. The goal is to develop a position that becomes apparent to politicians and the people, thus giving the EMB a far clearer voice in the political environment.

Everyone is aware of how powerful solidarity can be, and now we must do everything in our power to help each other build solidarity throughout Europe, from the smallest villages to the biggest cities. And we must remember that nobody helps the one who does not help himself. We are faced with two alternatives: act now or wait until it is too late.

Solidarity might be the answer. However, solidarity does not happen by itself, it has to be built little by little among European farmers and between farmers and consumers. This will be laborious work that must primarily be carried out by individual farmers or small groups of farmers and their national organizations that are members of the EMB. For farmers’ solidarity to succeed, all member organizations across Europe must act in synchrony and orchestrate their actions, with the EMB taking the role of the conductor.

The reason is that when all member organizations follow the same plan in terms of both measures and timing, it will give farmers crucial moral support by showing that farmers across Europe are standing together and working on the same goal. Our common website will be very important for strengthening the European community of farmers. It will also be an important contribution to creating a basis for believing that it is possible to change today's situation for all farmers in Europe and beyond. The new website will offer information on solidarity to farmers and consumers, and every farmer can follow the results of his or her own work and the results in all the other countries.

If we succeed in building solidarity as a means of achieving fair framework conditions for food production where quality and food safety matter more than price, today's citizens and future generations will be deeply grateful for our joint efforts. A critical success factor in achieving this goal will be to convince consumers so that they stand together with the farmer. We will do this jointly, and as the EMB President Erwin Schöpges said: “Let’s tackle this challenge!”

Even Erlien, Bondesolidaritet Norwegen

2013 – 2018: Realistic cost studies illustrate the true situation on the dairy market in the last 5 years

That is, in fact, a good question: What is actually going on in the dairy sector? Let's begin with some figures: 32.58 and 34.68 cents/kg. These were the average milk prices in Belgium and Germany respectively over the last five years.

Is it possible to glean enough information about the state of the dairy sector from these figures? Not really. If we were to, however, consider production costs in these five years alongside, things definitely become clearer. The average production costs per kilogram of milk were 44.58 cents in Belgium and 43.15 cents in Germany.
Conclusion: With an average shortfall of 12 cents in Belgium and 8.50 cents per kilogram of milk in Germany, it comes as no surprise that those working in milk production earn much less than the average population.

This clear insight is possible thanks to a series of studies carried out by the Bureau for Rural Sociology and Agriculture (BAL) over the last five years. Starting with realistic calculations for Germany in 2013, a clear picture of the current situation on German dairy farms was finally available. France and the Netherlands joined the study in the same year and with the addition of Belgium, Luxembourg and Denmark, the study is now available for six milk-producing countries.

How are these studies different?

They are:

Regular and up-to-date: Figures are updated annually and even quarterly in some cases.

Comprehensive: Working hours invested in milk production are also considered while calculating costs, and that too, keeping the worker's role and qualifications in mind. This seems obvious, but you would be surprised by how often this is left out in other studies.

Representative: They use verifiable EU data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), which is a very broad-based European data collection exercise.

Comparable: As it is based on harmonised EU data, the calculations for individual countries can be compared with each other.

What is the significance of these studies for European milk producers?
These studies offer great added value to dairy farmers in the participating countries. They make it possible for them to present a crystal-clear image of the current situation to policy-makers and to show that the current framework conditions for the dairy sector are lacking. Representatives of the Fair Milk brands refer to these figures in their negotiations with supermarkets to illustrate what the fair price for a litre of milk should be. Sieta van Keimpema, vice-president of the European Milk Board (EMB), also considers these calculations an important driving force: "They lead to public debate – at last. But these studies have also been a wake-up call for us milk producers. We have been shown the true worth of our work and our animals. And let's be frank, it also becomes painfully clear that our work is grossly undervalued. This has consequences for the future of farming. Only 6% of producers in the EU and 1.68% in the Netherlands are younger than 35. Only 15% fall within the category of 35-44 years."

According to BAL scientist Dr. Karin Jürgens, the balance of milk production costs and milk prices in all countries surveyed also shows the dilemma. "For years now, milk producers have had to live with milk prices that do not meet today's development requirements and their professional qualifications."

This has to change. An instrument to protect the dairy sector from crises would address this less-than-ideal situation to some extent. In this regard, the dairy farmers of the EMB call for the implementation of the Market Responsibility Programme (MRP).
Sieta van Keimpema on this point: "We want to constructively contribute to improving the situation on the dairy market. The cost studies are on the table to provide a clear picture of the sector. We present the MRP alongside to show what can be done to resolve crises."

Please find here the cost study with results for 2017

EMB press release of 27.11.2018