Boost for dairy sector as consortium gets $5m grant

The latest project of the Value4Dairy Consortium led by FrieslandCampina has received a $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to boost productivity and sustainability of the Nigerian dairy sector.

The Executive Director, Corporate Affairs, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, Ore Famurewa, said, “The $5m grant received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will fund 50 per cent of the consortium’s latest project, which is to advance systemic and sustainable local dairy production in Nigeria.”

She explained that the Value4Dairy Consortium launched in April, 2021, was a collaboration of four strategic partners with expertise in various agric-related value chains.

The partners include FrieslandCampina WAMCO; URUS (a global leader in artificial insemination, genetics and herd management systems); Barenbrug (a leading grass and forage seed company); and Agrifirm (a global company that operates in animal nutrition and crop farming).

The private sector consortium has developed a model that represents a pathway towards a self-sufficient, competitive, climate-smart and locally managed dairy sector, starting with three self-sustaining dairy zones in Oyo, Osun and Abuja. These zones will serve as hubs for training and supporting 10,000 pastoralists and smallholders, growing to include 40.000 milk producers in the subsequent years.

Each dairy zone will have a warehouse, outlets with dairy farming inputs and two milk collection points where FrieslandCampina WAMCO will collect the aggregated milk for processing into nutritious dairy products to feed more than five million Nigerians.

The consortium will leverage the partners’ expertise to provide local farmers access to the latest advancements in feed, breeding, sustainable farming practices and routes to the market, enabling them to increase milk production at lower costs sustainably.

Global Dairy Development Director at FrieslandCampina, Jeroen Elfers, stated that, “FrieslandCampina has a longstanding commitment to building local resilient dairy value chains. FrieslandCampina is committed to the growth and development of the Nigerian dairy sector and works with its partners in the Value4Dairy Consortium to support the development of a more robust dairy infrastructure.

The Managing Director of FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Roger Adou, said, “Together with our partners, FrieslandCampina WAMCO has created the largest dairy value chain in South West Nigeria. With this project, we aim to further empower local farmers, increase milk production and contribute to the nation’s agricultural prosperity.”