The federal government is in progress to introduce a new Dairy Policy, with Vice President Kashim Shettima set to officially unveil the policy on the 4th of June. This move is aimed at boosting domestic production and decreasing dependence on imports, marking a significant milestone in achieving self-sufficiency. Speaking during an event to commemorate the World Milk Day in Abuja, Minister of state for Agriculture and Food Security, Sabi Abdullahi shared insights into the importance of the industry in Nigeria. The Nigeria theme for this year’s celebration “Harnessing the Nutrition and Investment opportunities in the Dairy Value Chain”, highlighted the vital role of dairy in providing quality nutrition for Nigerians, with a focus on women and children.
This new policy aims to boost investments in dairy processing, prioritize animal health, implement various initiatives and projects to support farmers, enhance the quality and longevity of the products through preservation methods, ultimately improving their nutritional value. It also aims to not only improve the business environment in the nation, but also to enhance the use of data-driven strategies for better data collection, supply chain management, and market accessibility. Additionally, it seeks to encourage collaborations between the public and private sectors, and government entities in order to increase awareness and streamline collaborative endeavours.
Only 40 percent of dairy demand is met by local production.
Abdullahi noted that the new policy was necessary due to concerns raised by stakeholders about Nigeria’s necessity to reduce its $1.3 billion annual import. He thanked President Tinubu for his forward-thinking leadership and all partners and stakeholders for their assistance in improving the product’s value chain through Infrastructure development and cost reduction initiatives. He expressed that working together would help to boost food and nutrition security, uplift people’s lives, and support the country’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Currently, only 40 percent of the product demand is met by local production, which falls short of the 1.45 billion litre annual market demand. The majority of milk comes from low input, low yielding pastoral systems distributed through informal value chain trading, accounting for over 90 percent of the total production. The majority of commercial farms are concentrated in the central region, with a large portion of milk being sold through formal value chains. In Nigeria, the vast majority of milk production comes from pastoralists, with commercial farmers playing a minor role in the industry.
Significant investments are needed to boost the sector.
While 95% of the milk is provided by pastoralists, only 5% comes from commercial dairy farms. The milk from these farms is typically sold through organized channels in urban areas. On average, each person consumes about 20 to 25 litres of milk per year. Despite being the leading cow milk producer in West Africa and the third in Africa overall, Nigeria still relies on imports of the product. To boost the Livestock industry and domestic milk production, significant investments are needed in the sector to meet the estimated national demand of 1.45 billion litres.
Local milk production in Nigeria only meets less than 1 percent of the country’s yearly demand, which is estimated at 1.45 billion litres. This results in a per capita milk consumption of less than 10 litres in Nigeria, while the global average is around 40 litres per person. Other regions in Africa have an average milk consumption of 28 litres per person. A severe lack of cattle products in the market is causing concern for consumers and farmers alike.
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As the Nigerian government is working towards boosting the national Economy by rapidly developing the local sector, the FrieslandCampina Dairy Development Program in Nigeria is poised to play a significant role in this endeavor by making Dairy Farming more appealing to the upcoming generation of farmers, thus ensuring the sector’s sustainability. This program is implemented in collaboration with pastoralists, smallholder dairy farmers, and commercial farms, with support from various partners including the CBN. Their initiatives are active in communities in Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Kwara, and Niger states, working to support the industry.