Netherlands-based FrieslandCampina will contribute €12m ($16.5m) to the €22m ($30m) initiative, which will provide support to local dairy farmers by providing knowledge, and financing on “relatively favorable terms.”
The provided loans will be used to purchase cows, improve facilities, and fund the installation of biogas units. The Indonesian and Vietnamese farmers will also be given training to increase their milk yield and improve its quality.
FrieslandCampina will then buy the milk that is produced, and the loan repayments and interest deducted from the price paid for the milk.
The initiative was launched by FrieslandCampina CEO, Cees ‘t Hart, at the formal launch of its new Innovation Centre by Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.
“When she visited FrieslandCampina Vietnam in 2011, Queen Máxima gave us the idea of offering farmers a form of financing as well as training,” said Hart.