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 (FMARD) and FrieslandCampina WAMCO on Dairy Value Chain on
Wednesday 18th August 2021 in the Ministry’s Conference Hall, Abuja.
Nanono
said that 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 centers to produce quality heifers and strengthen the capacity
of pastoralists and small holder 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 have 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
lauded the FrieslandCampina WAMCO for its commitment towards carrying out
programs and projects aimed at accelerating the pace of development in the
Dairy Value Chain in Nigeria.
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 mutual goal
of expanding economic opportunities in the dairy sub-sector and 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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