Haramaya Camel Dairy
Info
Start date: 31 December, 2012 End date: 28 February, 2018 Project type: Larger strategic projects (prior to 2013) Project code: 12-017DTU Countries: Ethiopia Thematic areas: Agricultural production, Food security and safety, Lead institution: Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Denmark Partner institutions: Haramya University (HU), Ethiopia Chr. Hansen A/S, Denmark University of Copenhagen (UCPH), Denmark Project website: go to website (the site might be inactive) Policy Brief: Project website at DTU Orbit Project coordinator: Egon Bech Hansen Total grant: 9,027,324 DKK Project files:
2018-10-03_12-017DTU-Egon-Bech-HansenProject summary
Camels are popular domestic animals in arid and semiarid regions of Africa and the Middle East. Camels are held mainly as dairy animals, but also for the meat and for transportation. The largest camel population is found in East Africa, around the Horn of Africa in Somalia, Sudan, and Ethiopia. The camels in Ethiopia amounts to 2.5 millions.
Camel milk is mainly consumed raw in the local area without the use of modern distribution channels. The development of a dairy industry has been limited by the fact that neither butter nor cheese could be manufactured from camel’s milk, limiting the product to be liquid milk. Through the use of modern biotechnology the conditions have now fundamentally changed, as camel chymosin is now commercially available as a dairy enzyme. Through this project we will conduct the research needed to create the foundation for product development of camel dairy products.
The research will be conducted in Denmark and Ethiopia. We will build the scientific and educational competencies at Haramaya University where also the dairy pilot plant will be modified to allow processing of camel’s milk. In the course of the project we expect to educate two scientists to the level of Ph D as well as ten M Sc in Dairy Technology.
Outputs
Project completion report:
The project “Haramaya Camel Dairy” have removed obstacles for processing camel milk and developed a range of high quality camel milk dairy products. The procedures and processes have been described and made available for anyone to use. Ten young researchers have been educated through the project, two at PhD level and eight at Master level. Haramaya University now has the capacity to support the emerging Ethiopian camel dairy industry. A wider implementation of camel milk dairy technology will benefit the nutritional status of particularly children and it will improve a traditional drought resilient pastoral husbandry. The food security and drought resilience will increase.
The project has created the foundation for a wide implementation, in Ethiopia and all other camel rearing regions in Africa and Asia. The project team at Haramaya University is actively engaged in implementing the technology at two new camel dairy plants in Ethiopia.
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