Farmer’s traditional practices in milk and milk products handling in selected districts of North Wollo, Ethiopia

Dairy production is practiced almost all over Ethiopia. Milk and milk products play an important role in human nutrition throughout the country but the quality of milk produced in Ethiopia is poor and below the standard due to poor pre-milking and postharvest handling practices. The study was carried out from October 2022 to May 2023 with the objective of assessing and document the traditional practices of farmer's milk and milk products handling in selected districts of north Wollo, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was undertaken on 254 using stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected using semi structured questionnaire, observation, focused group discussion. Frequency of milking in morning and evening, morning only and evening only were significantly different (P < 0.001) in three dairy production system. Majority of respondents milked their cows twice a day (morning and evening milking) 68 %, 70.8 %, and 46.4 % in urban, peri-urban and rural dairy production system, respectively. The remaining 32 %, 29.2 %, and 53.6 % respondents in urban, peri-urban and rural production system were milked their cows once a day either morning only or evening only, respectively. The majority of smallholders in urban and peri-urban dairy production systems use plastic vessels for milk and milk products handling, whereas, rural smallholders used bottle gourds. According to respondents, materials use for cleaning like plants, detergents and, water alone were significantly different (P < 0.001) in the dairy production system. The purpose of smoking milk utensils was believed to increase the shelf life of dairy products 32 % 24.7 %, and 46.4 % in urban, peri-urban and rural production system, respectively. Therefore, supporting of farmer's traditional practices via training, identification of plants that are used for smoking and introduction of milk cans for farmers are crucial for improvement of milking and milk handling practices.