To commemorate World Milk Day, the Federal Government has launched the National Dairy Policy to boost local milk production. The policy is aimed at guiding both public and private sector investors towards achieving self-sufficiency in milk production and enhancing global competitiveness.
Speaking during the launch at the 2024 World Milk Day celebration in Abuja, the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement, Dr. Kingsley Uzoma, emphasized the government’s commitment to transforming the dairy industry by addressing key challenges such as outdated breeding practices and midstream inefficiencies.
In his words, “The National Dairy Policy aims to transform the dairy industry by addressing key obstacles, including the lack of modern global best practices for crossbreeding and calving, and midstream challenges.
“Currently, Nigeria spends $1.5 billion annually on importing dairy products due to a production deficit. Nigerians consume an average of 1.6 billion litres of milk and its products, but domestic production is insufficient to meet this demand.”
Shettima highlighted significant investments by local and international firms such as FrieslandCampina WAMCO and Danone’s Fan Milk.
He said, “These companies have initiated extensive backward integration projects to boost local milk production and foster a strong market for dairy products, aiming to reduce imports and enhance food and nutritional security.
“The Federal Government will continue to support such efforts by sustaining an enabling environment for capital inflow and technology transfer.”