Taiwo Hassan 
The Federal Government has stressed the need for a paradigm shift on the amount spent on importation of dairy products yearly, TAIWO HASSAN reports
At a virtual meeting of 36 states commissioners of agriculture along with other stakeholders, the Federal Government said it has become imperative for developing countries to start looking inward towards aggressively growing local substitution of imported materials in other to escape food crises. With the effect of COVID-19, the stakeholders said that Nigeria and other African countries could no longer sustain the foreign exchange (forex) spent on food importation because of the continent’s fragile Gross Domestic Products (GDPs). Specifically, they noted that Nigeria’s over dependent on foreign goods importation, mostly agricultural products, which still accounts for about 80 per cent or 90 per cent, could no longer be sustained in post-COVID-19 era, noting that a situation where Nigeria still spend over $1.3 billion annually on the importation of dairy products had become a challenge for government, agric stakeholders and importers.
Statistics
It is believed that lack of government’s support for the country’s dairy milk sector in the past through the creation of a conducive environment and boosting self-sufficiency in milk production has affected the growth of the country’s dairy sector in all ramifications. Stakeholders noted that if government had shown enough commitment to the sector at the beginning, the country would have, by now, started obtaining the highest possible yields per hectare and kilogramme of milk per cow yearly. Currently, Nigeria’s milk output per cow per day is about one litre, compared to other African countries like Kenya and Uganda with between 30 and 40 litres of milk per cow per day. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Nigeria, with Africa and Asia’s average of 0.9 million tonnes and 6.6 million tonnes respectively, Nigeria’s 0.6 million tonnes of milk production is the lowest in the world. The company said report that Nigeria consumes an estimated 1.7 million tonnes of milk annually, but her production output only meets about 34 per cent of demand.
CBN’s role
In a bid to develop the country’s local dairy sector and make Nigeria a major global milk producer, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in 2020, announced that it would stop issuing forex to importers of milk, noting that it was time for the country to revamp her local dairy sector, which has remained moribund for a while due to lack of investment.
Approvals
Because of this, CBN approved six dairy companies to import milk into the country as part of efforts to bridge the supply gap under the Federal Government’s backward integration scheme. Confirming the development in a circular issued by CBN on February 11, 2020 and signed by the Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Dr Ozoemena Nnaji, the apex bank said that the approval was given in line with its objective to increase and improve local production of milk and its derivatives. The six dairy companies are FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria, Chi Limited, TG Arla Dairy Products Limited, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Nestle Nigeria Plc (MSK only) and Integrated.
Lamentation
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Muhammad Abubakar, said that with the current priorities in the world’s food supply systems, the next issue of focus would be the animal protein supply chains and their link with global welfare and security. At a virtual meeting of 36 state commissioners of agriculture and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) along with other stakeholders on the State Level Project Socialisation on Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (LPRES), the minister who was represented by the Director, Animal Husbandry Services Department in the ministry, Winnie Lai-Solarin, said that the Nigerian livestock subsector provided about 36.5 per cent of the total protein intake in the country.
He emphasised the country’s ability to provide good quality and affordable animal proteins, adding that Nigeria does not only have pecuniary advantages, but also had direct link with human capital development and intellectual quotient. According to him, “Nigeria’s livestock sub-sector provides about 36.5 per cent of the total protein intake of Nigerians, it also contributes about eight to 10 per cent of the agricultural GDP and five per cent of the National Gross Domestic Product and has been a key contributor to poverty reduction, especially in rural areas.” He noted that the country was yet to take full advantage of the regional markets under its influence. Abubakar explained: “We are yet to take full advantage of the regional markets under our influence and have, in recent times, spent huge amounts of forex on importation of products that can be produced effortlessly in the country.” He urged participants to address the low investments in the livestock sub-sector to reduce importation.
Partnership
In order to increase level of investment in the dairy sector, Promasidor Nigeria Limited recently signed a partnership agreement with Ekiti State government to drive its backward integration initiative aimed at creating local source of raw materials for its dairy products through the state-owned Ikun Dairy Farm. The pact was sealed on behalf of the partners by Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and the Managing Director of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Anders Einarsson, in Abuja. Commenting on the agreement, Fayemi stated that Ekiti State was delighted to collaborate with a major player in the fastmoving consumer goods sector that is deeply committed to the well-being of consumers through its array of quality products. Also, Outspan Nigeria Limited (Outspan), a subsidiary of Olam International Limited (Olam), also flagged-off an artificial insemination programme for 100 dairy cattle in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State. This initiative, sponsored by Outspan, is being executed in partnership with the Kano Dairy and Livestock Husbandry Cooperative Union (KADALCU). The artificial insemination programme, according to the firm, is part of its larger Backward Integration Programme (BIP) and scaled dairy sector effort that builds on the initial setup of two fully-equipped milk collection centres (MMC) in Dalhassan and Dawakin Tofa areas of the state, in addition to the upgrade of a third MCC sited inside the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) donated building also located within the sprawling milk-producing state. The milk value chain development efforts are targeted at increasing the quantity, as well as improving the quality of local milk production. It is expected that these efforts will help bridge the huge gap between local milk production and demand, which currently stands at a staggering 70 per cent. Speaking during the flag-off ceremony, Regional Manager at Outspan, Manish Khede, said Olam was strongly committed to backward integration ventures across its operating markets. This underpins the value chain development approach in driving food security, expanding the pool of employment opportunities and strengthening the gross domestic product (GDP) of the countries. Manish added: “We know this can only be achieved in the long term by creating value for all stakeholders aiming to put more back into food and farming systems than is taken out.”
Last line
Nigeria should take dairy production very serious in order to attain self sufficiency and reduce the $1.3 billion spending annually on milk importation.
