FG partners Friesland WAMCO to strengthen smallholder dairy production

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono, has stated that strengthening of the Dairy Value Chain would improve the quality of locally produced milk, boost production and increase the network of milk suppliers in the country.

The Minister made this disclosure during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), between the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and FrieslandCampina WAMCO on Dairy Value Chain in Abuja.

Nanono said the significance of the Dairy Value Chain MoU is to strengthen the smallholder dairy farming business which will help to transform the largely nomadic cattle herders to sedentary dairy farmers and also provide the required infrastructure and training in the Dairy Value Chain.

He pointed out that ‘’the Ministry will set up crossbreeding centres to produce quality heifers and strengthen the capacity of pastoralists and smallholder dairy farmers to produce and supply raw milk to increase the market share of locally produced milk as well as create employable labour and expansion of investment opportunities for farmers’ prosperity”.

The Minister informed that FMARD and FrieslandCampina WAMCO had earlier collaborated on key programmes such as the Center for Nigerian Dutch Dairy Development (CNDDD) and the Value for Dairy Consortium, which builds local expertise and strengthens relevant institutions to be self-sufficient in shaping the Nigerian dairy industry.

“The collaboration has been pulling together value chain actors with the right support from expert partners”, he said.

In his remarks, the Managing Director, FrieslandCampina Wamco, Mr Ben Langat, stated that “the initial MoU established a structure and model for dairy development in Nigeria. It brought to focus the urgent need to put in place the right infrastructure and expertise that will support local milk sourcing in Nigeria.’’

He added that‘’ building on the progress made, the renewal of the MoU will enable both parties to replicate the successes achieved in the past 10 years in Oyo, Ogun, Niger, Osun and Kwara states, in other parts of Nigeria whilst supporting various dairy co-operatives in the country.”

Mr Langat stressed that ‘’under the MoU, both parties will provide a networking environment for 30,000 cattle herders and transform dairy farming practices by introducing improved techniques and also providing farmers with extension services to enhance raw milk quality and farm productivity. We will introduce commercial credit to farmers and build confidence between benefiting farmers and financial institutions for viable agri-business.”

The partnership seeks to support the mutual goal of expanding economic opportunities in the dairy sub-sector and the agreement to renew the MoU would reflect mutual intention to cooperate, coordinate and combine resources to achieve this objective whilst taking concrete steps to resolve the challenges identified in the past five years.

FrieslandCampina WAMCO is the producer of Peak, Three Crowns, Olympic, Nunu and Coast milk brands and also a critical Stakeholder in the Livestock sub-sector.

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FG partners Friesland WAMCO to strengthen smallholder dairy production