TİKA Supports the Production of Milk and Dairy Products in Mongolia

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) built a dairy plant in Mongolia.

In Govi-Altai Province, Mongolia, the milk, kashk, and dairy plant built by TİKA for the Khantaishiriin Shim Cooperative contributed to the improvement of the welfare of local producers, created jobs, and enabled local people to produce healthy milk and dairy products processed through modern and hygienic methods.

Approximately 17 million liters of milk are produced in Govi-Altai Province each year. However, the production of milk and dairy products cannot meet the needs of local people due to the poor economic situation of producers and unfavorable climatic conditions.

The Khantaishiriin Shim Cooperative, which has 12 female members, has been active in the field of animal products, milk, and dairy products since 2014.

As part of its project for the construction of a milk and dairy plant, TİKA provided tools and equipment such as a cold storage room, a milk analyzer, a pasteurizer, a cream separator, a cheese press, a kashk maker, a kashk ball maker, a kashk dryer, a deep freezer for the storage of the dairy products produced, and an automatic packing machine for the packaging of these products.

In coordination with the Governorship of Govi-Altai, the Khantaishiriin Shim Cooperative aims to distribute daily milk, kashk, yogurt, and cheese in small packages to preschool and primary school students and thus contribute to children’s consumption of milk and dairy products produced under healthy and hygienic conditions.

As an all-female cooperative, the Khantaishiriin Shim Cooperative will meet the needs of local people by processing 180,000 liters of milk under hygienic conditions with modern equipment; producing pasteurized milk, cheese, yogurt, cream, butter, and kashk, a local product; and packing these products according to the established standards.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Governor of Govi-Altai Ganbat Jigjidsuren, TİKA’s Ulaanbaatar Program Coordinator Emrah Ustaömer, Assistant Coordinator Sibel Güneği, Chair of the Khantaishiriin Shim Cooperative Byammba Ariunjargal, officials of local institutions, and local people.

In his opening remarks, Governor Ganbat Jigjidsuren thanked the Republic of Turkey and TİKA for the construction of this fully-equipped world-class milk and dairy plant, which is the first in Govi-Altai Province and will provide local people with quality and low-priced milk and dairy products processed under hygienic conditions.

TİKA Coordinator Emrah Ustaömer stated that population growth, globalization, and droughts undermine food security and rapidly limit access to food, the most basic human need; that the number of agricultural and animal production projects is gradually decreasing despite the rapid increase in the world’s population; and that therefore, TİKA puts great importance in agricultural and animal production projects.

Chair of the Khantaishiriin Shim Cooperative Byammba Ariunjargal said, “We are grateful to the Republic of Turkey and TİKA for their support for us. This is the first dairy plant in our region. We are happy to be able to produce dairy products under such good conditions and meet the needs of local people.”