Land O’Lakes Commemorates USDA's 150th Anniversary
Land O’Lakes International Development congratulates the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on reaching their 150th anniversary. For over thirty years, Land O’Lakes has proudly partnered with USDA on several agricultural development projects in developing countries worldwide through Food for Progress, Local and Regional Procurement and McGovern/Dole Food for Education programs. Thank you, USDA, for your leadership and commitment to enhancing global food security!
Currently, Land O'Lakes is operating nine USDA-funded programs in as many countries:
- Bangladesh Food for Progress: In partnership with Winrock International, we are promoting agricultural enterprise-based growth, and improving nutrition and income among smallholder farmers. For more information, click here.
- Liberia Food for Progress: This new program will focus on revitalizing commercially sustainable livestock production and processing.
- Madagascar Food for Progress: Working in the country’s “Dairy Triangle,” we are helping to improve the quality and efficiency of dairy products throughout the value chain, while strengthening milk marketing systems from farm to consumer. For more information, click here.
- Malawi Food for Progress: Land O’Lakes is assisting smallholders to increase their production of rice, cassava and livestock through improved technologies. For more information, click here.
- Mozambique Food for Progress: We are expanding dairy herds; training farmers in effective feed/fodder, animal husbandry and traction techniques; and establishing producer-level cooperatives and milk collection centers. For more information, click here.
- Pakistan Food for Education: We are distributing a take-home ration of soybean oil to students and teaching staff who achieve 80 percent attendance and to women who participate in a health program, in an area with the country’s lowest school attendance rates. The program will directly benefit 25,000 students, 700 teachers and 2,500 women. For more information, click here.
- Philippines Food for Progress: This initiative is expanding dairy development across the island of Mindanao by increasing the affordability and availability of improved dairy cattle, improving cattle management practices, and expanding processing capacity and linkages to meet demands. For more information, click here.
- Tanzania Food for Progress: Land O’Lakes is increasing milk production and collection, developing market linkages, improving inputs, strengthening dairy processing and quality assurance, and enhancing consumer awareness. For more information, click here.
- Uganda Food for Progress: Under the leadership of FINCA, we are strengthening the dairy sector through technical assistance on market development and quality improvement. For more information, click here.
In 2012, we will open two additional USDA Food for Progress programs in Mozambique and Mongolia. We will build on our work in Mozambique through another three-year program in the dairy basins of Manica/Sofala, Maputo and Nampula. We aim to expand the dairy value chain, improve the capacity of cooperatives and address the unmet demand for locally produced dairy products. Under the leadership of Mercy Corps, we will help implement a three-year Productive Agribusiness Chains Support program in Mongolia.