Capitalizing on incentives: Training and certification of dairy traders as a pathway to better milk, health and nutrition

This poster resumes the investigation of long-term effects and potential of a training and certification scheme launched in 2006 to address milk food safety concerns in the informal dairy markets and offer a route for the gradual legitimization of informal dairy actors. The scheme offered training on hygienic practices, quality testing and business skills and facilitated access to a government license, and was designed to scale up and be selfsustaining. The study explored the dairy traders’ experience with the scheme, their perceptions of the training relevance and perceived benefits of and constraints to their success with the aim of identifying routes that will impact health and nutrition. It also explored the gender differential impact and experience and identified the opportunities and constraints to sustainability. Were conducted eight gender-disaggregated focus group discussions with trained and untrained traders operating in the informal sector in two urban areas in Kenya: Kisumu and Eldoret