DSF Stage 1 membership pilots underway

Launched at the DSF Annual Meeting in 2023, the DSF, supported by a wide range of stakeholders (DSF Members and DSF Advisory Council organizations) has developed a level of DSF membership for dairy organizations who are just starting their sustainability journey and/or have limited resources available to deliver the requirements of the DSF implementing member. The Stage 1 level brings the organization into the DSF ‘family’ and, over an agreed timeline, are supported with the development of skills and systems that can transition from the Stage 1 member to an implementing member at the earliest opportunity.

With the very welcome support and leadership of the National Dairy Development Board of India (NDDB), two pilots to test the implementation of the Stage 1 process have now been established, one with the Jharkand Milk Producer Federation (Jharkhand State) and one with Shreeja Milk Cooperative (Andra Pradesh). Initial meetings with both of these ‘brave’ organizations have confirmed that we will have an exciting collaborative joint learning experience as we work through the Stage 1 process.

The DSF is immensely grateful to the NDDB, who are also part of the DSF Governing Board representing ‘Dairy Asia’, for facilitating this complex process and the two partner dairy organizations for their leadership and importantly, their absolute desire to build an effective Stage 1 model. This project will enable many smaller and emerging dairy organizations across the globe to access the DSF Framework and benefit from the pre-competitive and collaborative efforts of the sector’s sustainability efforts.

DSF Director, Brian Lindsay, on his recent visit to India, was able to gain insights into various initiatives for sustainable dairying being applied in smallholder production systems.

A third pilot is working with the Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers. Watch this space for progress updates for these programs.

Please note that until the pilots are completed, the DSF is not seeking additional applications for Stage 1 membership. Organisations wanting to join Stage 1 membership can still contact the DSF to register their interest and are able to keep engaged through the DSF newsletter, webinars and annual meeting access.