The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and FrieslandCampina WAMCO, have intensified their partnership, renewing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Dairy Value Chain Development.
FMARD signed its first MoU on Dairy Value Chain Development in Nigeria (Demand Driven Approach) with FrieslandCampina WAMCO in 2011, it was renewed in 2016, and in 10 years, significant progress was made.
Improvement was particularly recorded in the networking of milk suppliers, training and improving quality of raw milk as both parties collaborated on key programs such as the Center for Nigerian Dutch Dairy Development (CNDDD) and the Value for Dairy Consortium.
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The programs built local expertise and strengthened 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.
Despite the success recorded, other aspects that relate to infrastructure development and volume of milk supply were below targets set for the partnership.
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Both parties then sought to support their mutual goal of expanding economic opportunities in the dairy sub-sector and agreed to renew the MoU to reflect their mutual intention to cooperate, coordinate and/or combine their resources to achieve this objective whilst taking concrete steps to resolve the challenges identified in the past five years.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ben Langat, Managing Director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO said, the initial MoU established a structure and model for dairy development in Nigeria, adding that it highlighted the urgent need to put in place the right infrastructure and expertise that will support local milk sourcing in Nigeria.
“Building on the progress made, the renewal of the MoU enables 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,” he said.
Langat further explained 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,” he added.
Sabo Nanono Minister, Agriculture and Rural Development reiterated that the significance of the Dairy Value Chain MoU is to strengthen the smallholder dairy farming business which will help transform the largely nomadic cattle herders to sedentary dairy farmers, noting that this will involve providing required infrastructure and training along the value chain.
He added that his has become crucial for the economy in the face of dwindling revenue from oil and the need to diversify the economy speedily.
“We will set up crossbreeding centers to produce quality heifers and strengthen the capacity of pastoralist and smallholder dairy farmers to produce and supply raw milk to increase the market share of locally produced milk as well as create employable labor and expansion of investment opportunities for farmer prosperity” Nanono said.
FMARD and FrieslandCampina, makers of Peak, Three Crowns, Olympic, Nunu, and Coast milk brands are committed to initiating policies, carrying out programs and projects aimed at accelerating the pace of development in the dairy value chain in Nigeria.
