Healthy product
Milk of the highest quality is a major target of the national
program that encompasses several hubs andoperating fronts
Higher productivity of the
dairy herd is one of the
targets of the project
In order to make steps forward and become
more competitive, the dairy sector in Brazil is aware
of the need for efforts, a reality that has been incor-
porated by the national initiative launched in 2015,
identified as Healthy Milk Program. One of the
main purposes consists in supplying a product of
the highest quality, along with an increase in pro-
ductivity, through several initiatives that seek high-
er income, thus improving the social status of the
farmers. Six hubs guide the project: mechanical and
managerial assistance, genetic enhancement, agri-
cultural policy, animal health, milk quality, regulato-
ry framework and market expansion.
In the qualitative range, the Ministry of Agri-
culture, Livestock and Food Supply (Mapa), coor-
dinator of the program, is developing, jointly with
Embrapa Dairy Cattle, the BrazilianMilk Quality Pro-
gram. It will be used tomanage sample data from all
over the Country, conducted by the Brazilian Net-
work for Milk Quality and for the definition of pol-
icies focused on the competitiveness of the supply
chain. The number of analyses has been registering
a significant increase, say ministry sources.
Technical and managerial assistance, where best
practices are of note, anticipate the initial selection
of 3,620 rural holdings in the main milk producing
states comprised by the program: Minas Gerais, Rio
Grande do Sul, Paraná, Goiás and Santa Catarina.
The Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and
Livestock (CNA), in 2015, the moment the en-
tity signed the technical cooperation agree-
ment with the Mapa and the Brazilian Micro and
Small Business Support Service (Sebrae), expressed
confidence in the success of the project, “as far as the
producers, CNA officials and theNational Rural Learn-
ing Service (Senar) are concerned”.
João Martins, president of the CNA and of the De-
liberative Council at the Senar, said at that moment
that “the Brazilian cattle farmers are determined to be
efficient, and the dairy activity is the one that employs
the most people in Brazil.” He mentioned that there
are 1.3 million dairy farmers in Brazil, most of them
small-scale farmers, who fit into the category chosen
by the Sebrae for encouraging the spirit of entrepre-
neurship. The entity is also giving publicity to works
carried out in different states, like the Full Bucket Pro-
gram, of the Minas Gerais State Federation of Agricul-
ture (Faemg); the Leitec program, of the Senar/RS;
Goiás More Milk, of the Senar/GO and initiatives by
the Senar in Santa Catarina.
The Sectoral Chamber of the Milk and Deriva-
tives Supply Chain, coordinated by Rodrigo Alvim,
fromCNA, equally highlights the program, which sets
several fronts, including the liberation of credit lines
and the removal of bureaucratic hurdles at small-scale
agroindustries, as well as more intense sanitary vigi-
lance and market expansion. Another objective con-
sists in improving the productivity rates of the Brazil-
ian dairy herd (nowat 4.4 liters per cowa day) and, in
general, the idea is to provide the needs for 80 thou-
sand dairy farmers to migrate to the middle class, in
466municipalities across Brazil.
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