The 'Chance For All' Project Pilot Takes Place

The Chance for All project is a landmark project, bringing together a diverse set of partners to work with disadvantaged communities to achieve a lasting economic and social impact. Read this report from Andreea Gherba, Bóthar’s Romanian Representative.

IN 2015, after almost three years of implementation, the pilot phase of the “Chance for All” project has reached its final stages. Chance for All is a joint undertaking, involving the work of Danone Ecosysteme, Danone Romania and Bóthar, to lend a helping hand to poor Romanian farmers, to help them increase their income and to improve nutrition.

The dairy sector in Romania has a high percentage of family farms (90% of all farms are small and own only 1-2 milk cows). The milk that comes from small-scale farms does not always meet EU standards, so it can only be processed and sold on the national market where producers have no power to negotiate and the price received is very low. The central focus of this project was to enable formal collaboration among farmers.

In order for small-scale farmers to gain the critical mass necessary to improve the quality and quantity of production, this project assisted participants in establishing three large producer groups of 150 families each,

giving farmers the ability to invest more in their farm and creating a joint collection point. By having these in place, milk processors were more interested in buying and the larger groups were then better able to negotiate the milk price.

To support the development and success of these larger producer groups the project partners provided farmers from three communities in Central and Southern Romania with 214 Irish heifers and 10,000 artificial insemination straws from Dovea Genetics in Thurles, to improve the breeds and increase productivity. In addition to the heifers, beneficiaries have benefitted from facilities that can ensure the quality of milk produced including 25 Transportable Milking Parlors (TMPs), cooling and storage tanks and over 580 stainless steel cans.

This initiative also delivered a specialised training component including health, hygiene, nutrition, pasture management, artificial insemination, milking and cow reproduction. This aided them in obtaining a high quality

and quantity of milk, which meets European Union standards. The market access for the milk was and still is, ensured by Danone.

The challenges were significant, but so were the rewards. THANK YOU for helping us to build more resilient communities and link them in a sustainable

manner to markets, through the provision of high quality livestock, the organisation of community groups, social and technical training and assistance, and providing them with access to reliable market partners.