Meet Dr. Ayo
Our professional for the month of May is a smart veterinarian and innovative agripreneur who is positively impacting Nigerian agribusiness with his 21st-century entrepreneurial solutions. […]
Nigeria, Arla Foods in talks to develop dairy sector
As part of the follow up to the recent meeting between the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mr. Lars Loekke Rasmussen and President Muhammadu Buhari, a high-powered Nigerian delegation from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Wednesday held talks in Denmark with Arla Foods on the development of the dairy sector in Nigeria, reports NaijaAgroNet.
Arla Foods, NaijaAgroNet notes, is one of the world’s largest dairy companies. The visit is Arla’s second milestone in its declared commitment to invest in local production in Nigeria and help create a more sustainable local dairy industry, following the presentation of it's signed letter of intent to Nigeria’s Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh. Arla's Letter of Intent was presented in February 2016 at the same meeting where Denmark’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kristian Jensen signed a letter of Intent with the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture to cooperate on the development of the local agriculture sector in Nigeria.
The Nigerian delegation was made up of the key line departments responsible for the dairy development comprising Dr. Gideon Mshelbwala, Director, Veterinary Services and Pest Control; Dr. Mrs. Egejuru Eze, Director. Animal Production and Husbandry as well as Senior Technical Adviser to the Minister, Dr. Andrew Kwasari and Hon. Saleh Hassan, Member, House of Representatives’ Committee on Agriculture.
Welcoming the delegation to one of Arla’s dairy farms, Steen Hadsbjerg, Senior Vice President and Head of Arla Foods for Sub-Saharan Africa, stated that, Nigeria is key to Arla’s ability to sell its farmer owners’ milk in West Africa in the future.
Hadsbejerg declared, “we understand that developing the Nigerian local dairy industry to create a sustainable value chain that contributes to food security, local jobs and prosperity are important issues for the government. The Nigerian government welcomes companies and initiative that will help this development.”
"The purpose of this visit is for Arla to understand the challenges in developing a sustainable dairy sector in Nigeria and how Arla can most effectively contribute to the solution. It is also for Arla to share our knowledge and experience about how our farmer owners have organised and developed their value chain.The result will benefit Arla’s opportunities whilst ensuring the good development of the dairy market in Nigeria for the benefit of all parties,” Hadsbjerg further said.
Senior Technical Adviser to the Minister, Dr. Andrew Kwasari, said, “this visit has been an eye opener for me. Arla is an organised cooperative that has done very well and work in a sustainable manner. Arla is run by the farmers themselves and to protect the interest of their farmer colleagues and ensure better returns on their milk, they set a higher standard for their milk quality than expected by the government.”
“We hope for a partnership with Arla and knowledge sharing that will help us empower Nigerian farmers who face multiple challenges with logistics, infrastructure, organisation, quality and productivity. We could definitely see Arla as a partner to help build a sustainable dairy industry in Nigeria from the very beginning based on its globally proven concept of 'Dairy enterprise of the farmers, for the farmers by the farmers,” he said.
Speaking during a tour of the Arla facility in Copehangen, Member, House of Representatives’ Committee on Agriculture, Hon. Hassan Saleh, commended Arla Foods for its high production standard saying, “Arla Foods has demonstrated it is a very organised company and their processes are impeccable resulting in high quality products. I am very impressed with what I have seen and I believe that Arla will be a good partner to help us improve our milk production and make it more sustainable.”
Saleh also said, “Nigeria will need both local farmers and imported products, so there will be a market for both in the future and I see a strong future for Arla in Nigeria. We will not be self-sufficient for some years to come.”
In continuation of their visit to Denmark, members of the Nigerian delegation also attended round table discussions with Arla and Danish food and agriculture companies where they shared knowledge about farm and dairy technology solutions and discussed potential partnerships to help develop the Nigerian dairy industry.
Nigeria spends $1.3b dollars on dairy imports. The Nigerian government’s target is to double the milk production over the next three to four years so as to meet up with domestic consumption and export.
Pix: L-R: Mr. Kasper Thormod Nielson, Director, Trade Policy, Arla Foods, Mr.Steen Hadsberg, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, Arla International, Dr. Andrew Kwasari, Senior Technical Assistant to the Minister for Agriculture and Mrs. Heather Akanni,Technical Assistant to the Minister, Quality Control and Standardization during a visit of the Federal government delegation to Arla Foods' Slagelse Dairy farm in Denmark on Wednesday 13, April 2016.
Grazing Reserves: Yoruba Youths Ask Southerners ‘Go and Defend Your Lands’
NaijaAgroNet:A socio-political organisation, Yoruba Youth Council, has rejected the agitation for grazing reserves for Fulani cattle rearers across the country, with a call on Southerners to go and defend their lands against external aggressors, report...
Exclusive: Truly, there is no grazing reserve bill before NASS
The Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, was at the weekend quoted as saying there is no such bill on national grazing reserve before the National Assembly and if there is, NASS will not support it, reports NaijaAgroNet.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) had reported Ekweremadu as saying that this is a hoax, while addressing newsmen on Sunday after a meeting of the South East governors and stakeholders in Enugu.
Ekweremadu had insisted that there was no bill on the creation of grazing reserves before the National Assembly.
He therefore said that the purported bill for the creation of grazing reserves was a “hoax”, adding that the press should strive to stop such rumours.
“There is no such proposal or bill on the creation of grazing reserves either in the Senate or House of Representatives. Nobody is considering it; not even at the executive level. I do not think they are considering it but we will not support it even if it has been considered,” he said.
Investigations by NaijaAgroNet showed that truly there is no such bill listed before the 8th Senate.
According to NaijaAgroNet findings, the purported bill for National Grazing Reserve Bill was initially presented to the National Assembly in 2008 sponsored by Senator Zainab Kure.
The bill sought to become an Act to provide for the establishment of the National Grazing Reserve (Establishment and Development) Commission for the Preservation and Control of National Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes and for other Matters Connected Therewith.
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Meet Dr. Efie (Consultant Veterinarian)
Our Professional for the month of April is a beautiful and hard-working Veterinary business professional who cleverly incorporates public health education with veterinary consultancy and […]
