Kigali, Rwanda | May 2025 — Under the banner of “Sustainable Dairy for Prosperous Africa,” the IDF Regional Dairy Conference Africa 2025 is set to bring together dairy professionals, policymakers, innovators, and entrepreneurs at Camp Kigali this June. Co-hosted by the Rwanda Ministry of Agriculture, the International Dairy Federation (IDF), and the Rwanda National Dairy Platform, the event aims to accelerate Africa’s transition toward a resilient and inclusive dairy ecosystem.
The conference will feature a series of expert-led sessions covering pressing themes in the global dairy agenda, including:
- 🌿 Climate-smart and resilient dairy production
- 🐮 Animal health and welfare systems
- 🧀 Processing innovation and milk quality assurance
- 🍶 Nutrition and dairy consumption trends
- 🚛 Marketing, distribution, and logistics infrastructure
- 💸 Socio-economic development and dairy enterprise financing
🧭 A Global Platform for Regional Progress
Africa’s dairy industry, though rich in potential, faces challenges such as climate variability, limited cold chain networks, and constrained access to finance. This event will provide a much-needed collaborative space for developing context-specific solutions while learning from global best practices.
Participants will engage in panel discussions, technical workshops, and collaborative dialogues designed to build dairy systems that not only support farmer incomes but also promote food security and environmental stewardship.
🇮🇳 India’s Dairy Expertise Among Global Delegates
Among the international participants is Shri Minesh Shah, Chairman of India’s National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), who will be attending the event and sharing insights from India’s cooperative dairy transformation.
India’s experience with farmer-owned milk networks, digital procurement platforms, renewable energy in dairy, and grassroots productivity improvements provides a valuable template for African nations seeking to establish inclusive and scalable dairy enterprises.
🗣️ “India and Africa share similar agro-economic challenges, and the cooperative model can serve as a bridge between productivity and rural prosperity,” said Shah ahead of the conference.
🤝 Strengthening South–South Dairy Cooperation
The conference is expected to deepen collaborations between emerging dairy economies, particularly in areas such as:
- Technology transfer and dairy infrastructure
- Cross-border livestock improvement programs
- Women-led rural dairy entrepreneurship
- Sustainable financing and inclusive policy frameworks
With increasing global focus on climate-smart agriculture, the IDF Africa 2025 event stands as a vital platform for aligning sustainability with dairy growth across the Global South.