FG, dairy firm renew pact on value-chain development, access to credit

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and FrieslandCampina WAMCO, have renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on dairy value chain development.

Under the new pact, both parties will provide a networking environment for 30,000 cattle herders and transform dairy farming practices by introducing improved techniques and also providing farmers with extension services to enhance raw milk quality and farm productivity.

“We will introduce commercial credit to farmers and build confidence between benefiting farmers and financial institutions for viable agri-business”, says the Managing Director of FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Ben Langat.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono and Langat, signed the renewed MoU on Wednesday, in Abuja.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Langat, said, “The initial MoU established a structure and model for dairy development in Nigeria. It brought to focus the urgent need to put in place the right infrastructure and expertise that will support local milk sourcing in Nigeria.

“Building on the progress made, the renewal of the MoU enables both parties to replicate the successes achieved in the past 10 years in Oyo, Ogun, Niger, Osun and Kwara states, as well as other parts of Nigeria, whilst supporting various dairy co-operatives in the country.”

Nanono, stressed that the significance of the Dairy Value Chain MoU is to strengthen the smallholder dairy farming business, which will help transform the largely nomadic cattle herders into sedentary dairy farmers.

This will involve providing the required infrastructure and training along the value chain.

“We will set up crossbreeding centres to produce quality heifers and strengthen the capacity of pastoralists and smallholder dairy farmers to produce and supply raw milk to increase the market share of locally produced milk as well as create employable labour and expansion of investment opportunities for farmer prosperity” Nanono said.

The Federal Government signed its first MoU on Dairy Value Chain Development in Nigeria (Demand Driven Approach) with FrieslandCampina WAMCO in 2011 and the deal was renewed in 2016.

In the face of dwindling revenue from oil and the need to diversify the economy, the government seeks to build on the successes so far made with the partnership under the MoU, which expired on April 17, 2020 by signing a new one.