As a volunteer for PUM (www.PUM.nl) in 2015 I was asked to participate in training trainers and farmers in Dairy Learning labs (DLL). The format of these DDL.s is developed by Agriprofocus (www.Agriprofocus.nl) and consist ideally of a two day workshop with a farm visit in the morning and theoretical part in the afternoon to discuss the specifics of the farm and share knowledge about the topic of the Learning lab.

With the Veterinary Faculty of Dinajpur University in Bangladesh PUM developed a training of trainers program for a period of three years. The training is about dairy animal husbandry: management and good practices, feed and feeding and animal health. I was the first one to train 15 farmers about feed and feeding to improve dairy farming and have more milk to feed the people of the country. Farmers were eager to learn and, after getting to know each other, there was a very interactive and participating atmosphere.

In the beginning of January I was in Nepal for PUM Nederlandse senioren experts to advise and extended dairy farm. In Nepal about 65 percent of the households are farming smallholder farms and they don’t produce enough for the 28 million inhabitants. Nepal imports all kind of food, from vegetables till milk and meat from sheep and goat. The import of  milk from India is halve a million litres a day. Small holder farmers have one or two cows or buffaloes and produce enough for their own use and maybe a little bit for he neighbours.