As the world marks this year’s World Milk Day, the Federal Government has revealed plans to galvanize stakeholders to fully implement the National Dairy Policy which will not only boost the agricultural sector but also save Nigeria the N1.5 billion it spends annually importing milk.
Addressing journalists on Saturday in Abuja, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Sabi Abdullahi enumerated some of the challenges of the dairy sector and pledged the support of the federal government to address them.
He said with an estimated 2 million children in Nigeria suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) partly due to limited consumption of animal-source food; the role of milk consumption comes in handy and to the rescue if made available
The Minister further stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria reported that Nigeria spends 1.5 billion USD per annum to import dairy products.
According to him, this is because of Nigeria’s production deficit which stood at nearly 60 percent as Nigerians consumed an average of 1.6 billion litres of milk and its products.
Senator Abdullahi however said “These and many more formed the foundation upon which the National Dairy Policy was developed as the radar for the journey of transformation of this crucial industry in Nigeria over the next years ahead.
“I want to assure you all that the President is sincerely concerned and urgently wants a reversal of the negative state of the dairy industry, and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is ready for the challenges ahead as we work hard to renew the hope of dairy value chain actors.
“The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in collaboration with national and international partners (many of whom are present here today) would in the next few years work assiduously and strategically within the approved National Dairy Policy; which will be unveiled on 4th June 2024 by HE Vice President Kashim Shettima.”
Implementation of the new Dairy policy will guarantee programmes, projects and interventions to ensure improved dairy farming practices, increased investment in dairy processing and preservation, institute Evidence-based Policy implementation, promote Collaboration, create ease of business for the dairy industry, foster public-private partnerships, embrace technology and innovation and many more.
In his address, the President of the Commercial Dairy Ranchers Association of Nigeria (CODARAN), Muhammadu Abubakar said the theme of the World Milk Day Celebrations 2024, ‘Harnessing the Nutrition and Investment Opportunities in the Dairy Value Chain’, succinctly captures the assertion that the dairy industry is a hotbed of opportunities, both for wealth creation and for nutrition security.
“We are confident that the event, especially the conference and exhibitions, will yield practical recommendations for the sustainable development of the dairy industry. We also hope that the Federal Government of Nigeria will extend more support to the dairy industry and its players.
“We call on all Members of CODARAN and all the players in the dairy industry to affirm their commitment to and increase their investments in backward integration to enhance the transformation of the Nigerian dairy industry into a major contributor to Nigeria’s socio-economic development,” he noted.
ALSO READ THESE TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
