The Danish Ambassador expressed his happiness over the creation of Livestock Ministry by the President, Senator Bola Tinubu and the drive of the Minister. He mentioned that the Danish Government through the Strategic Sector Cooperation is engaging with the Nigerian MDAs in Foods & Feed, Animal Identification and on managing the prevalent use of antibiotics. He also added that the Danish Government has provided training to many Nigerians through the DANIDA Fellowship Courses. The Ambassador concluded by extending an invitation to the Honourable Minister for a visit to Denmark with his officials.
On his part, The Managing Director of Arla, Nigeria said that Arla Foods has a solid collaboration with Nigeria and that they have been selling dairy products since 1970. He added that Arla is a cooperative, owned by farmers. In Nigeria they have 500 employees, 3 offices, 2 production facilities and a state-of-the-art dairy farm in Damau-Kaduna State. He further emphasized that their local dairy development journey started in 2015, implementing several development projects (such as Milky Way Partnership, setting Up Damau Cooperatives, Partnership for Green & Productive Dairy in Nigeria) with local and international partners. The MD also mentioned that the delay in implementation of Damau Household Milk Farm is affecting their plans for investment into milk storage and processing in Nigeria.
The Senior Manager. Raw Milk Supply and Production in Arla mentioned that the 400 Ha Arla farm started in 2023 with 215 imported heifers and currently has 370 cows (with 100 lactating), its power source is 40% solar, 95% of its feed is produced on farm and 50% of milk is sold to other processors. He elaborated that a new dairy factory is almost completed inside the farm.
In his response the Minister thanked the visitors for coming and the role they are playing in local dairy development. The Minister identified four core areas of possible collaboration: Capacity Building in Research & Development and Linkages to farmers, Breed Improvement, Feed & Fodder and Visit/Exchange Programs for Knowledge sharing. On Damau Household Milk Farm, the Minister promised to engage Kaduna State to speed up implementation.
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