The dairy sector in West Africa is booming, with growing demand for dairy products driven by a rapid increase in population and changes in consumption habits. However, this growth presents a risk of spreading zoonotic diseases, which are easily transmitted to humans through the consumption of dairy products. Unfortunately, research on these diseases and the safety of local milk in West Africa does not make it possible to find enough suitable solutions to effectively fight against these diseases. Very little information/research exists on these diseases and the research results are not sufficiently valued and disseminated to allow the emergence of local solutions responding to the main factors of propagation in the milk sector. It is therefore imperative to take into account and support the players in the sector in the search for solutions to this problem.
The Research and Innovation Project for productive, resilient and healthy agro-pastoral systems in West Africa (PRISMA), proposed the establishment of innovation laboratories to support key players in the milk sector in Mali in the creation of innovative solutions adapted to their needs and their context. ”An innovation laboratory or an Innovation Lab is a space for consultation and collaborative action where key players in the milk sector can contribute to designing and prototyping innovative solutions together with NGOs, companies, startups, young entrepreneurs. ‘ideas or other organizations’’.
A workshop was organized from November 28 to 29, 2023, to establish a common vision of the progress and impact of these innovation laboratories on the prevention of zoonotic infections in the dairy sector. The workshop brought together 15 actors from the milk sector in Mali, including technical services, regional directorates and the Ministry of Livestock, the milk inter-professional association, cooperatives of the milk sector and NGOs as well as the technical experts from Butterfly Works and the innovation expert from Enabel, the project’s implementing partner.
Meeting and discussing with various stakeholders in the milk sector will make it possible to draw up a precise map of the key players with whom action should be taken to improve the safety of local milk by reducing the risk and transmission factors of these zoonotic diseases.