Perceptions of stakeholders towards sheep and goat dairy products in Benin

In Benin, small ruminant farming is practiced by a significant proportion of agricultural households, mainly for meat production but also for dairy production, which unfortunately is not yet valued. In this context, it is essential to understand the perceptions of breeders, processors, traders and consumers regarding sheep and goat dairy products in order to propose solutions to encourage better use of their animals’ milk. To this end, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in twelve departments of the country in order to study the perceptions of stakeholders involved in the “milk and dairy products” value chain. A total of 1,198 actors were interviewed through a form and the results analyzed by descriptive statistics tools. Only 15.8% of breeders practice milking sheep and goats while the milk produced is mainly used for animal feed and personal consumption. 28% of breeders prefer to consume raw milk, while only a minority (27%) agree to process the milk produced. Among dairy product processors, only 6.25% from the Couffo department already process small ruminant milk and depending on the department, 20 to 100% of respondents say they are ready to process sheep or goat milk. The vast majority of traders (99%) do not yet distribute their products given the low demand and their availability on the market. Furthermore, the majority of the latter were in favor of their commercialization if the demand was felt on the consumer market. Finally, the majority of the people surveyed (67.31% to 100%) consume dairy products made from cow’s milk. They are reluctant to consume dairy products from small ruminants because of fears of communicable diseases (23%), a lack of knowledge of these products (88%) as well as the strong odor associated with goat products (67%) in the Alibori department. Future development programs for the milk sector in Benin should therefore integrate and implement initiatives aimed at generating interest among the population in the consumption of milk from small ruminants, which will create demand for its products on the market and thus boost its production in livestock farms.