Kaduna State in partnership with Arla Food builds a commercial dairy farm
The danish-based food company, Arla Foods International in collaboration with the Kaduna State Government, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a commercial dairy farm in Kaduna State to empower local livestock breeders and promote a sustainable dairy development project in Nigeria. This project is in line with the Central Bank’s policies and efforts to reduce the importation of dairy products and encourage the critically needed backward integration schemes in Nigeria.
The new project has an investment portfolio of €100million which is expected to create 50,000 new jobs, employ about 1,000 herdsmen families and start with 12,000 herds of cattle. The farms will include schools for the children of the herdsmen and a veterinary clinic.
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Speaking on the project, the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, stated that the investment will support security not just in Kaduna state but in Nigeria as a whole.
“Our hope is that what we started with Arla will lead to the development of the grazing reserve in Kubau local government – and we want to develop jointly with them – will show the itinerant, nomadic herdsmen that it is possible to engage in modern livestock production without moving. We want to show that it is possible for livestock production to be a business rather than a culture or habit or lifestyle but something that can empower and enrich our herdsmen and women… The government can facilitate, the government can subsidize, the government can support, but we believe that it is only when we have experts like Arla providing the technical assistant, the technology and managing and guiding that we can have success,” El-rufai said.
The governor said the MoU with Arla is a positive step that is expected to be developed and replicated in other parts of the state. The fundamental requirements for projects such as this to succeed are: that the market framework conditions are in place, access to the Nigerian market is sustainable, fair and predictable, and that access secures a viable business environment for companies that are investing in the dairy industry in Nigeria.
Arla’s Vice-President, Steen Hadsbjerg, said the signing of the MoU was a step towards increasing milk production in the country.
“For Arla, this is a huge project; it is the first project of its kind that we are conducting in the world. I’m happy to introduce our partnership which will increase our food production,” he said.
Kaduna State in partnership with Arla Food builds a commercial dairy farm. The commercial dairy farm is sited in Damau, Kaduna with planned feed and grassland development with locally sourced Bracharia and Napier grass seeds. Land clearing and fencing have been completed and grassland establishment is currently in progress.