Project Description

Dairy production in Senegal is a rapidly growing sector, but it relies on a diverse and fragmented supply chain of individual small farms, aggregation centers, artisanal processing facilities, and transport without refrigeration, creating a challenging situation for food safety. Building food safety capacity in Senegal’s dairy sector in the early stages of its development is a foundation for a resilient, safe dairy industry, reduced foodborne disease, and improved market access.

This project, led by Manpreet Singh of the University of Georgia, is creating systemic change in food safety capacity across the dairy value chain in Senegal. The holistic approach includes raising awareness of food safety issues and their impact on public health, conducting research-based food safety training programs, identifying practical food safety interventions, and coordinating comprehensive food safety regulations aligned with government policies. An integrated gender research and training strategy is supporting women dairy operators who have traditionally dominated milk and dairy production and sales but whose contributions, expertise, and needs are often underrepresented in food safety practices.

This project is enhancing awareness of food safety issues in the dairy value chain, assisting food processing operations in implementing food safety standards, and creating a pipeline of well-equipped food safety professionals in Senegal. This building of human and institutional capacity in food safety is catalyzing systemic change in the dairy sector in Senegal, which will reduce the burden of foodborne disease and enhance economic development in rural areas.