Milk containers being checked before they go to a Nestlé factory.

Caquetá, a poor and sparsely populated region of Colombia near the Amazon basin, is home to a Nestlé milk district. When Nestlé representatives first visited Caquetá some 30 years ago, they saw potential for milk production: 1000 hectares of prairies ill-suited for commercial agriculture, native grass good for grazing, zebu cattle and locally-available financing.

Nestlé has since worked with farmers to improve the quantity and quality of their milk with technical advice on animal nutrition, farm development and road construction. Over the years, the company installed numerous cooling stations and built two plants. Today, some 2500 farmers account for one of the more promising milk districts in the south of Colombia. Though the milk district supplies just 2% of Colombia’s total production, it is an important source of income in the region.

The milk district is a business model that Nestlé uses worldwide to create local, high-quality reliable sources of milk for its many dairy products. These milk districts catalyse prosperity for millions of farmers and communities around the globe. In March 2005, the Governor of the Caquetá department awarded Nestlé its highest decoration, El Corguaje de Oro, for its steady presence and continuous contribution to the development of the region.