Has the global recession, with governments under pressure to reduce costs, had an impact on school milk schemes?
Holm: We see continued interest and commitment from governments to develop and grow school feeding programmes, linked to the agricultural value chain. In the past year, we’ve seen continued expansion of programmes in different countries such as India, China and Haiti. For example, in Mumbai, the scheme managed by local government last year covered more than 125,000 children. Although the programme faced challenges due to a contamination scare, it’s now expanding and reaches about 180,000 children with the intention of doubling in the near future. Efforts are now being made to expand the programme to other parts of India, including Delhi. Iran now has one of the largest school milk programmes in the world. In Russia, government commitment has resulted in a Moscow plant dedicated to producing school milk.
