Javakheti Dairies Go Mainstream

The dairy industry in Javakheti, predominantly populated by the Armenian community, famous for its pastureland and milk produced by smallholder farmers, is undergoing a significant transformation due to the growth of large-scale community-based dairies who source all their milk from smaller scale farmers. Many of these dairies were operational a decade ago as small to medium enterprises who tended to operate ‘under the radar’ and outside the mainstream of the Georgian business sector due to cultural and language differences.

Now these dairies, sport the Georgian Milk Mark and are active and important members of the Georgian Milk Mark Federation, the sectoral advocacy group active in promoting raw milk sourced from community-based suppliers.  These operations, now supplying major formal markets, feature large-scale production and diverse product lines adhering to global compliance standards.  They  are providing decent employment and stable supply relationships with local suppliers, laying the foundation for efficient and sustainable local production for decades to come.

The ALCP2 founded and continues to support the Georgian Milk Mark. The ALCP2 implemented by Mercy Corps Georgia, is funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) in cooperation with the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) and Sweden.