Study trip 2015
Summary of feasibility study trip 4th july-8th August 2015
Participants
Chalotte Vad, project leader and architect, Architects without Borders
Steen Holck, coordinator, EcoLeap Foundation
Lisbeth Knarreborg, Dairy engineer, Danish Dairy Technology without Borders
Sten Holmgaard Sørensen, Dairy technologist, Danish Dairy Technology without Borders
Uffe Mortensen, Dairy technologist, Danish Dairy Technology without Borders
Zoljargal Enkh-Amgalan, Anthropologist/interpreter
Aim
To conduct a feasibility study investigating if there is a need for supporting the development of the dairy sector in Mongolia and in particular if there is an interest and need of establishing a dairy facility in the small village Khatgal in the northern Khovsgol province of Mongolia.
Our goal was also to start the process of establishing a cooperative of local herders in the Khatgal area to be our local Mongolian associates and partners in the dairy project. The cooperative will be the ultimate owners of the dairy facility.
The project group is working on a thorough report as a result of the fieldwork, which will be posted on this page when completed.
4-5th July
Flight Copenhagen- Ulaanbaatar
5th July, Ulaanbaatar
Meetings and data collection
Tsetsgee Ser-Od, Adviser.
Owner of ”Suun Bilegdel” Co., Ltd., a dairy facility in Erdenetsogt sum, Bayankhongor province that produces dairy products from yak milk. Tsetsgee is also the owner of Khongor Yak Cheese shop in Ulaanbaatar. She imports and sells cultures and rennet from Chr. Hansen, Lactoscan and dairy equipment from India.
Key information: 300 l daily production. Suun Bilegdel dairy only receive the milk from the morning milking as the milk from the evening milking have to many bacteria, due to lack of cooling facilities at the herders homes. The herders deliver the milk themselves (on motorbikes). The production period is 12. June-20. August, due to the short milking period.
6th July, Ulaanbaatar
Meeting and data collection
Mr. Byambasuren, Chairman of the Mongolian Milk association.
Mr. Mandakh, member of the Mongolian Milk Association.
Mr. Amgalanbaatar, member of the Mongolian Association.
The Mongolian Milk association was founded in 2013 with the purpose to protect the interests of the members and facilitate coordination with the Mongolian government. 700 members.
Key information: Mongolia only produces 25% of the dairy products sold in shops. 75% of the milk is imported, manly from Fontera, NZ. There are approx. 15 million cattle in Mongolia. Around Ulaanbaatar most farmers are settled, have stables and fodder for the cattle and produces milk all year.
Meeting and data collection
Giimaa Kashbaat, Executive director and Chairman of Dairy Steering Group.
Mongolian Food Industry Association. 350 members. Homepage: www.mfia.mn
Key information: There are 135 dairy facilities in Mongolia. 40 are situated in Ulaanbaatar. 95 dairies in other provinces. 5 dairies in Khovsgol province. 1 medium scale, the Titanic Ltd. 4 small dairies.
75% of the Mongolian dairy production is consumed domestically and is not processed in dairy facilities.
7th July, Ulaanbaatar
Meeting and data collection
Batzorig Batjagal, Vice Minister for Food and Agriculture of Mongolia. Homepage: www.mofa.gov.mn
Garnibal Nayantai, Director, General of Livestock Policy Implementation and Coordination Department, Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Key information: The ministry is finishing a new 10-year plan. 2015-2025. Mongolia has 70 million cattle now, in 2003 there were 23 million cattle, which creates an overgrazing situation.
3,5% of the pastoralists are farmers, the rest are nomads. 37.500 farmers produce milk all year (3,5%). The nomads only produce milk during the summer period.
Meeting and data collection
Tuul Tuvshinbayar, Program Manager, Global Communities. Homepage: www.global-communities.org
Enkhtuya Boldbaatar, Program Dairy Specialist, Global Communities.
Global Communities is financed by USAID and have a project window from 2010 to July 2016. The programme supports the provinces of Ulaanbaatar, Selenge, Tov og Darhan-Ull with advice and specialists in the field of: marketing-, dairy-, vegetables-, livestock and organisation of cooperatives.
Key information: Global Communities have helped 800 farmers establish themselves in cooperatives. The success of the cooperatives depends of finding good hardworking leaders. Essential is knowledge sharing, training and workshops of especially of the cooperative leaders, but also the cooperative members.
Site visit
A small scale dairy facility. Company: NT LLC, brand name: LIKE.
Production 500 l milk daily. Pasteurizing (batch), cooling down in buckets, separation and further cooling. Skimmed milk is added sugar and vanilla and frozen to yoghurt ice cream (packed in bags of 50 g). Of 50 L cream is produced 20 kg butter.
Site visit
Monsuu Co., Ltd.
Khadbaatar Chimeddorj, Director.
Songinokhairkan district, 4th khoro, Food producer’s street, Tolgoit KhD – 51.
Producing 20 ton milk daily. Established 1991.
Visiting a small scale farm
Mr. Mandakh. No contact info.
Tie Stable, 58 cows, 250 L of milk daily.
Visiting a large scale farm
Mr. Amgalanbaatar. No contact info.
Yard, 250 cows, 300 L of milk daily.
8th July, Mörön, Khovsgol province
Domestic flight Ulaanbaatar-Mörön
Meeting and data collection
Ms. Suvdaa, Director of the Murun Branch of State Registration, Director of the Treasury Department
Inform meeting on the Mongolian legislation on cooperatives.
Key information: A cooperative must consist of minimum 9 members. The cooperative need By-laws and a general assembly and board, ID identification handled to the State Registration Office.
Site visit
Titanic Ltd. Mörön, Khovsgol province
Ms. Lkhagvaa, Director.
Mr. Carlos Marbach, Dairy & Cheese consultant, Swisscontact. Homepage: www.swisscontact.org
Ms. Narantuya Baatar, Country Representative Mongolia, Swisscontact.
Dairy facility established in 2006 with the help of Amul (Indian dairy industry). Production 1500 l milk daily. Capacity of the facility is 4000 l daily. 27 herders supplying the milk.
9th July, Khatgal, Khovsgol province
Meeting and data collection
Ganbaatar Bat-Ochir, Governor of Khatgal.
Key information: There are 380 herders in the Khatgal area. Khatgal has 40.000 Mongolian and 4.000 foreign tourists yearly. There are 35 tourist camps and 43 guesthouses. 3300 cattle and 3000 yak and hybrid. Information on conditions for the cooperative to buy land for the dairy facility.
Visiting local herders in Khatgal.
Registration of traditional Mongolian milk production and collection. Yogurt/Tarag, cream/Öröm/Tsotsgii, Butter/Tos, Mongolian cheese/Byaslag, Dried curd/Aruul/Arts/Eezgii, Yak vodka.
10th July, Khatgal, Khovsgol province
Information meeting for the local community about the dairy project.
Presentation of the dairy project and background of the participants. Conduction surveys and signing up new members for the cooperative. 23 members signed up.
11-13th July, Khatgal, Khovsgol province
Information pavilion at the Naadam festival marked place.
Informing the local herders about the dairy project, conduction surveys and signing up new members for the cooperative.
14th July, Khatgal, Khovsgol province
Meeting about the dairy project.
Establishing a steering group consisting of 6 members, covering 6 different areas around Khatgal. Finding a communicator speaking both Mongolian and English for the communication line between the cooperative and the Danish project group. Conduction surveys and signing up new members for the cooperative. A total of 43 members signed up for the cooperative.
15-16th July, Khatgal, Khovsgol province
Visiting local herders in Khatgal.
Registration of traditional Mongolian milk production and collection. Yogurt/Tarag, cream/Öröm/Tsotsgii, Butter/Tos, Mongolian cheese/Byaslag, Dried curd/Aruul/Arts/Eezgii, Yak vodka.
17th July
Domestic flight Mörön-Ulaanbaatar
Lisbeth Knarreborg, Sten Holmgaard Sørensen, Uffe Mortensen.
18th July
Flight Ulaanbaatar-Copenhagen
Lisbeth Knarreborg, Sten Holmgaard Sørensen, Uffe Mortensen.
Tourist Camp Marketing survey
Steen Holck and Chalotte Vad
Camps visited: Dalain Chimeg Camp, Grand Tour Camp, Bayan-Ulaan Tourist Camp, Naranzangilaa Camp, Blue Pearl, Olympic Camp, Natures Door, Mongol Ujin Camp, Toilogt Ger Camp.
Key information: Most camps have 60-100 beds. Blue Pearl 200 beds. Current dairy products: Raw milk, Yogurt/Tarag, cream/Öröm/Tsotsgii, Butter/Tos.
The camps get their dairy products from local herders living near the camps. All the camps said concurring that they have problems with a consistent delivery of dairy products from the local herders. Often they don´t have enough dairy products as the herders don´t show up or don´t deliver enough products. The quality is not consistent. They all want a steady supply of pasteurized dairy products locally produced. They want returnable packing (eco friendly) for the kitchen and small packing to sell to the tourist. They demand souvenir packing of traditional Mongolian products.
They would like to see: Fresh pasteurized milk, Yogurt/Tarag, cream/Öröm/Tsotsgii, Butter/Tos, Mongolian cheese/Byaslag, European cheese, European butter, Different fats (high /Low), Dried curd/Aruul/Arts/Eezgii.
6th August
First steering group meeting in Khatgal.
Attending was the 6 steering group members.
Baasan area 1, B. Otgon area 2, Erdenechimeg area 3, L. Baigali area 4, Dalain Myagmar area 5, Gankhuyag area 6 and adviser Yanjma Batochir from Khatgal office of agriculture, Tsenddavaa Nasanjargal communicator and coordinator, Chalotte Vad og mr. G. Tsoggerel.
Tsoggerel is the cooperative leader of “Zamtiin Negdel” Khorshoo (cooperative) and was attending as an adviser from Global Communities. The new cooperative was named:“Sarlagiin Khishig” Khorshoo witch means: Blessing of Yak.
A total of 66 members signed up for the cooperative.
7th August
Domestic flight Mörön-Ulaanbaatar
Steen Holck and Chalotte Vad
Meeting
Tuul Tuvshinbayar, Program Manager, Global Communities and Chalotte Vad.
Discussing the progress of the dairy project and new cooperative “Sarlagiin Khishig” Khorshoo and next steps.
8th August
Flight Ulaanbaatar-Copenhagen
Steen Holck and Chalotte Vad