ASSESSMENT OF DAIRY FARMS AND MILK COLLECTION CENTERS IN EL-GHARBIA GOVERNORATE AS A MODEL OF THE EGYPTIAN DELTA (CASE STUDY)

The current case study was conducted in El-Gharbia Governorate, Egypt, and consisted of two parts. The first part aimed to evaluate the performance of 44 dairy farms (24 in Qutur and 20 in Zefita), while the second part focused on tracing the technical and economic aspects of 17 milk collection centers (MCCs) (12 in Qutur and 5 in Zefita). Farms and MCCs were randomly selected. The obtained results showed that cow milk production was similar in both areas, while buffalo milk production was higher among smallholders in Qutur compared to medium-scale enterprises in Zefita. Home consumption of buffalo milk reached 18% of DMY, highlighting its importance over cow milk. Factors such as land size, feed costs, and financial capability influenced farm capacity and profitability. In medium-scale farms, holders used artificial suckling to sell buffalo milk at higher prices and sold male calves earlier due to high feed costs and market demand for veal. Calving season also affected household decisions and market supply. Artificial insemination was not applied due to high costs or lack of services. Milk marketing depended on the distance between farms and MCCs, milk prices, transportation means, and quantities produced. The value of cow and buffalo milk was higher in Zefita compared to Qutur, buffalo milk exceeding cow milk by 34.91% in Qutur and 42.40% in Zefita, respectively. The study concluded that expanding milk collection points, particularly under local cooperative supervision, would enable dairy farmers to increase profits by improving technical knowledge and adopting efficient hygienic practices for milk production.