Quality upgrading and actor behaviour in Uganda’s dairy value chain

Abstract

Agri-food supply chain upgrading is often constrained by technological, informational, and institutional barriers that limit the assessment and traceability of product quality. Drawing on mixed-methods evidence from Uganda’s southwestern dairy sector, this study examines how midstream technological interventions, namely milk analysers to assess quality and an ICT-based tracking system, reshape incentives and behaviour in a context exhibiting common-pool resource dynamics. We find that improved midstream transparency generated marked gains in raw milk quality, supported by behavioural change, emerging social norms, and reputational mechanisms. However, price incentives remained weak. Quality improvements were partly undermined by leakage to non-compliant buyers and by intermediaries shifting compliance costs upstream to producers, highlighting persistent governance failures in tiered markets. We argue that while technological solutions can facilitate quality upgrading, they are insufficient without complementary institutional rules and market-wide coordination. The findings contribute to broader debates on value chain governance and institutional reform in low-income settings.