The Centre for Nigerian Dutch Dairy Development (CNDDD) has announced more partners to support its plan to deliver a sustainable national dairy sector and value chain in Nigeria.
The centre, founded by FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria PLC and the University of Abuja, made this known on Wednesday during its webinar titled, ‘Harnessing the Great Unpolished Diamond of Africa’.
In a statement issued on behalf of the partners, Ore Famurewa, executive director, corporate affairs, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, said the dairy firm was glad to announce three new partners to the centre.
“The partners include the Toward Sustainable Clusters in Agribusiness through Learning in Entrepreneurship (2SCALE) programme, a business incubator led by the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) that manages a portfolio of public-private partnerships for inclusive business in agri-food sectors and industries; Rabobank, a leading global food and agri bank that dedicates its knowledge, networks, and financial solutions to helping to solve global food problems through cooperation; and Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands, which trains high-quality, ambitious and innovative professionals who contribute to a more sustainable world,” the statement said.
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The statement further explained that these partners brought a wealth of expertise to the CNDDD vision and mission.
“We will be revealing more partners in the coming months, but for now, the CNDDD will continue to lead various platforms that bring together key stakeholders to share knowledge and discuss key must-win targets to enable rapid growth in our local dairy industry,” it said.
The webinar highlighted a case study of Brazil’s ‘Transition in Cattle Breeding’ delivered by Keith Heikes, chief operating officer of URUS.
The keynote address titled ‘10 Building Blocks for Creating a Sustainable Dairy Sector in Nigeria’ was delivered by Jeroen Elfers, corporate director, Dairy Development, Royal FrieslandCampina. It encapsulated strategic steps that should be applied for rapid growth in the local dairy industry, leveraging smallholder dairy farmer model.
Ben Langat, chairman of the board, Centre for Nigerian Dutch Dairy Development, said for a strong sustainable dairy sector to emerge, “we do need to build local expertise and strengthen relevant institutions to be self-sufficient in shaping the Nigerian dairy industry”.
“The CNDDD is pulling together these value chain actors to work together and with the right support from expert partners,” Langat said.
The CNDDD is Nigeria’s first national expertise centre for dairy development and it is committed to unlocking and developing dairy expertise for all stakeholders in the Nigerian dairy sector. The centre seeks to drive a homegrown model for the entire dairy value chain in Nigeria as it partners with stakeholders including the government, universities and dairy value chain professionals.
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