With love from Denmark: Nigeria to cut $1.3bn dairy import bill

Nigeria’s target of cutting dairy import and doubling local production of milk is set to receive technical support from Denmark, officials of the ministry of agriculture and natural resources have said.

Following a recent meeting between the prime minister of Denmark, Lars Loekke Rasmussen, and President Muhammadu Buhari, a Nigerian delegation from the ministry held talks with Arla Foods in Denmark on Wednesday.

Nigeria spends $1.3billion dollars on dairy imports, with the government hoping to double the milk production in the next four years to meet up with domestic consumption and also export.

The country is currently experiencing low local milk production, with more than 70% of dairy products imported into Nigeria.

The visit to Arla Foods, one of the world’s largest dairy companies, is  a second step in its declared commitment to invest in local production in Nigeria.

The Nigerian delegation had representatives of the key line departments responsible for the dairy development, notably Gideon Mshelbwala, director, veterinary services and pest control, Egejuru Eze, director, animal production and husbandry, and Andrew Kwasari, senior technical adviser to the minister.

Saleh Hassan, a member of the house of representatives committee on agriculture, was also in the team.

While welcoming the delegation during a tour of one of Arla’s dairy farms, Steen Hadsbjerg, senior vice president and head of Arla Foods for Sub-Saharan Africa, said Nigeria is key to Arla’s ability to sell its farmer owners’ milk in West Africa in the future.

“We understand that developing the Nigerian local dairy industry to create a sustainable value chain that contributes to food security, local jobs and prosperity are important issues for the government. The Nigerian government welcomes companies and initiative that will help this development,” he said.

“The purpose of this visit is for Arla to understand the challenges in developing a sustainable dairy sector in Nigeria and how Arla can most effectively contribute to the solution. It is also for Arla to share our knowledge and experience about how our farmer owners have organised and developed their value chain. The result will benefit Arla’s opportunities whilst ensuring the good development of the dairy market in Nigeria for the benefit of all parties.”

Kwasari said: “This visit has been an eye opener for me. Arla is an organised cooperative that has done very well and work in a sustainable manner. Arla is run by the farmers themselves and to protect the interest of their farmer colleagues and ensure better returns on their milk, they set a higher standard for their milk quality than expected by the government.

“We hope for a partnership with Arla and knowledge sharing that will help us empower Nigerian farmers who face multiple challenges with logistics, infrastructure, organisation, quality and productivity. We could definitely see Arla as a partner to help build a sustainable dairy industry in Nigeria from the very beginning based on its globally proven concept of ‘Dairy enterprise of the farmers, for the farmers by the farmers.”

Speaking during a tour of the Arla facility in Copehangen, Saleh, commended Arla Foods for its high production standard.

“Arla Foods has demonstrated it is a very organised company and their processes are impeccable resulting in high quality products. I am very impressed with what I have seen and I believe that Arla will be a good partner to help us improve our milk production and make it more sustainable,” he said.

The Nigerian delegation learned about Arla’s international business and the important role that Nigeria plays in Arla’s strategy.

The delegation also visited one of Arla’s cooperative farmer owners to see how the farm quality programme Arlagaarden ensures high standards on the farm.

They visited a fresh milk dairy to see how Arla works with quality systems to deliver high quality products to consumer across the world.