• Women’s Financial Inclusion Drives Empowerment: When women are loan holders, they gain greater decision-making power and more equitable participation in dairy activities—showing how access to finance transforms gender dynamics within households.
• Finance Alone Is Not Enough: While access to credit improves engagement in dairy production, it does not automatically lead to better diet quality. Embedding gender and nutrition lenses in financial products and training is essential to achieve real impact.
• Tackling Gender Barriers in Loan Access: A recent research study led by Tanager underscores the need to address socio-cultural norms, collateral requirements, and gender-blind loan designs that limit women’s access to finance. Tanager and the TI3P project are responding through gender-sensitive financial products and social behaviour change strategies to foster inclusive growth in Tanzania’s dairy sector.

In East Africa, rapid population growth and rising incomes are driving a surge in demand for animal-sourced foods. Among these, dairy stands out—not only as a growing market opportunity but also as a vital source of nutrition. In Tanzania, for instance, the dairy sector produces over 2.7 billion litres of milk annually, but most of it never reaches the market. About 90% is consumed at the household level, 10% makes its way to collection centres, and only 2.7% is processed. Despite women being at the heart of dairy production, they continue to face barriers such as limited access to finance, social norms, and gender disparities that limit their cow ownership, decision-making, and economic gains. 

IGNITE and TI3P Driving Transformation

 

Between 2023-2024, Tanager’s IGNITE project provided gender and nutrition technical assistance to the Tanzania Inclusive Processor Producer Partnerships in Dairy (TI3P), a project implemented by the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) in partnership with the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Land O’Lakes Venture37, and Heifer International. TI3P aims to catalyze an inclusive transformation of Tanzania’s dairy sector by: 

• Increasing milk production,  

• Enhancing women’s economic empowerment, and  

• Creating a favourable business environment  

As part of our engagement with the TI3P project, Tanager collaborated with TI3P implementing partners to review their training tools and develop strategies that support integration of gender-responsive and nutrition-sensitive approaches into the dairy sector. 

Unlocking Access to Finance 

For many smallholder farmers in Tanzania, access to credit remains a challenge. Often labelled “too risky” because they lack collateral needed by formal lenders, while some cooperative societies are not sufficiently well-managed to provide adequate financial services. Recognizing this gap, TADB, a state-owned agricultural development bank, is stepping in to make a difference. Through the TI3P project, TADB has been providing loans across the entire dairy value chain, focusing on processors, smallholder farmers, and other actors. 

To dig deeper into the real impact of dairy financing, Tanager worked with the TADB to carry out a study across Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya, and Tanga regions. The goal was simple but important: to understand how financing influences intra-household gender dynamics and dairy productivity for small-scale producers who receive TI3P loans through farmer-producer organizations. 

The cross-sectional study reached directly into farming households, surveying members of farmer-producer organizations. Both loan holders and non-loan holders, men and women were included, often from the same households. To enrich the findings, the research weaved in a market access assessment. The study findings revealed:  

• Women face additional barriers in accessing loans due to cultural norms, upfront costs, lack of collaterals, financial illiteracy, and gender-blind products. 

• Milk income is often re-invested in farming or other household needs, which do not necessarily contribute to improving diet diversity. 

• Men typically receive larger loan amounts and have higher income levels than women. 
• Women who are more likely to access loans tend to already be relatively empowered. They demonstrate greater sole decision-making power, better access to information, employment, and closer proximity to dairy markets. 

Gender Dynamics in Dairy Production

The gender division of roles in Tanzania’s dairy value chain is highly location and culture-specific, making it difficult to generalize across the country. Women, men, and youth all play vital roles in dairy production. While many dairy households must often choose between consuming milk or selling, it’s evident from the study, when women control milk income, household milk consumption rises and decision-making power. Similarly, in non-dairy households, milk consumption increases when women’s income grows. This is unlike men who are less likely to prioritize milk for household consumption, underscoring the gender–nutrition link. 

The study further reveals financing could also have a longer-term impact on women’s empowerment and household nutrition. Women who control revenue from milk sales have decision-making power, including the ability to purchase food for the household, while qualitative evidence suggests that income earned by women in non-dairy households also translates into higher milk consumption. Further findings from the study include:  

• Both women and men in households with TADB/TI3P loans are more actively engaged in dairy-related activities compared to those in non-loan households. Notably, when women themselves are loan holders, the gender gap in participation in dairy activities nearly disappears — highlighting the transformative power of women’s financial inclusion in driving equitable participation in the dairy sector. 

• Loan-holding households generally report a lower share of dairy-related income under sole control, suggesting greater joint decision-making over dairy income.  

• Improved livestock ownership and dairy productivity correlate with better food security, particularly for women and children. 

Tackling Social Norms

In Tanzania, women play a central role in dairy production, yet many face social norms and systemic barriers that limit their access to loans. Collateral requirements, often tied to land or assets traditionally owned by men, make it harder for women to secure the financing they need to grow their businesses. 

To tackle these barriers, the IGNITE project worked with the TI3P initiative to design a social and behavior change communication strategy. The strategy aims not only to empower women in dairy-farming households but also to promote increased milk consumption and healthier diets. By addressing knowledge gaps around the nutritional value of milk, financial literacy, and by encouraging more diversified milk products and accessible distribution channels, the approach creates opportunities for both women’s economic empowerment and improved family nutrition. 

Dairy Production and Access to Markets

 

On market access and diet quality, the study examined the association between the characteristics of the nearest food markets and household diet quality. Farmers face several challenges in accessing markets, especially if it involves bringing their dairy products like milk for sale. Loan-holding households are more connected to markets but do not necessarily show higher dietary quality. 

On average, farmers lived 9.8 kilometres from the nearest high-quality market. However, the relationship between dairy production and diet was not influenced by market access, and no evidence was found to suggest that proximity to better markets improved dietary quality. Similarly, access to financing showed no association with improved diet quality. 

Towards Inclusive Finance and More Equitable Households 

Overall, the study recommends the need to address gender barriers in loan access and the design of gender-sensitive financial products. By embedding gender and nutrition perspectives into financing, training, social and behavior change communication, and value chain development, Tanager and TI3P are creating pathways for improved dairy production, market access, and more equitable household dynamics.  

Read the full study findings now available at: http://bit.ly/42r0Bku