By Chikodi Okereocha
Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo has welcomed the strategic partnership of FrieslandCampina WAMCO, URUS, Barenbrug and Agrifirm tagged ‘Value4Dairy Consortium’ in their commitment to boost self-sufficiency in Nigeria’s dairy sector.
Osinbajo, who made this known at the virtual launch of the consortium said with FrieslandCampina WAMCO as the processor to deliver the end chain, the partnership will drive increased domestic consumption of processed milk and milk products and the expected industry growth.
Osinbajo was represented by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Mohammed Sabo Nanono, also commended the consortium noting that the consortium will drive inclusive engagement and positively influence the development of national livestock initiatives at various levels of government.
The partnership is built on the companies’ global achievements and experiences with which they will accelerate sustainable dairy development to deliver high quality nutrition for everyone involved in the dairy chain from farmer to consumer.
The consortium brings to the dairy sector specialized milk collection and processing (FrieslandCampina WAMCO), better breeding (URUS), proper roughage production (Barenbrug) and fitting animal feed (Agrifirm).
They will help to integrate the dairy sector and formulate homegrown methods to solve challenges, which previously hindered growth.
The experts, however, said the dairy development gains made by FrieslandCampina WAMCO in Nigeria still need public sector collaboration to scale up and expand.
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Speaking at the launch, Managing Director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, Ben Langat, said that there had been discussions over the months with the partners on ways to accelerate the progress of the Nigerian dairy sector.
He said the main goal of the discussions was to invest in local business models to enable the dairy sector become self-sufficient and profitable throughout the entire chain.
Langat said only a sector with a healthy return on investment can be self-sufficient and will survive in the long term.
“We are proud to state that these three professional companies with proven track records believe in developing the Nigerian dairy sector with FrieslandCampina WAMCO.
“They are top of the global expertise in the dairy sector with proven performance and excellent reputation as well as maintain world-leading market positions,” Langat said.
The consortium is already working on steps that will increase local milk production and processing, which will include combined infrastructure for the distribution of milk and semen. They will train farmers to succeed more with better cow semen, grass seeds and feed supplements.
The business model along the entire dairy chain is expected to become more efficient and attractive to further investments with the ultimate ambition of promoting a thriving and self-sustaining dairy sector.
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