Healthy farms, better food on the table

Author: Jona Plumbi

For a dairy farmer, not all the milk produced by a cow makes it to the market. When an animal becomes sick, some of that milk may have to be discarded — along with part of the income the farmer and his family were counting on.

That is why the health of their animals is fundamental to the continuity of a dairy farmer's business. Keeping cows healthy means protecting production and avoiding unnecessary costs.

Mastitis is one example. This common infectious disease affecting dairy cows can significantly reduce milk production and quality. Treating affected animals brings additional costs, while less milk is available for sale. What starts as a health problem quickly spirals into a financial loss.

The better option, for both the animal and the farmer, is prevention. This is where practical changes make a measurable difference. Funded from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Swiss Government, GIZ supported the Agricultural University of Tirana to work with veterinarians and farmers on preventing and managing mastitis.

Better hygiene, disinfection before and after milking, improved nutrition and veterinary preventive care can all become part of everyday farm management.

For Besnik and Laureta Gjermeni, who run a dairy farm in Krutje, Lushnje, the benefits of prevention were clear — and they came quickly.

“We didn't expect such simple measures to make such a big difference. Our cows are healthier and our production is better. When the herd is healthy, the whole farm benefits.”

On one supported farm, around 80 per cent of the cows were affected by mastitis at the start of the intervention. Sixty-five days later, after two control measures were combined, that number had fallen to around 25 per cent.

The numbers show just how much that can matter. For around 12,000 lek spent on preventive measures, a farmer can avoid losses of up to 85,000 lek in one year — protecting production and income on which the farmer and his family depend on.

But better practices only go as far as the people who can bring them to the farms. That is why GIZ focused on veterinarians, working with the National Authority of Veterinary and Plant Protection (AKVMB) and private veterinary professionals. Sixty veterinarians from all 12 regions of Albania were trained, with the knowledge expected to reach around 300 dairy farms across the country.

This way of working is also part of a broader shift in dairy farming.

Healthier animals, better farm hygiene and higher standards of milk production are part of the European standard for dairy farming. EU rules require raw milk to come from healthy animals —making prevention and early management of problems such as mastitis an important part of producing milk that meets European requirements. 

This is why GIZ is supporting farmers to adopt a range of production and management practices that contribute to healthier animals and better milk quality —from hoof care, artificial insemination, improved stable conditions, animal welfare and higher standards of milk and milking hygiene. Together, these measures can help farmers produce higher-quality milk, reduce avoidable losses and increase their ability to sell — strengthening the productivity and sustainability of dairy farms.

For farmers, healthier cows mean more milk to sell, fewer avoidable costs and a better chance of keeping their farms productive over time. For everyone else, it means something equally important: better-quality, safer food making its way from the farm to our tables.