FG, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Renew Ties on Dairy Development, Sign MOU

By Nseobong Okon-Ekong

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and FrieslandCampina WAMCO, makers of Peak, Three Crowns, Olympic, Nunu and Coast milk brands, have renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Dairy Value Chain Development.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono and the Managing Director of FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Mr. Ben Langat, signed the renewed MoU on in Abuja yesterday.

Since the MoU was first signed in 2011, FMARD and FrieslandCampina WAMCO have collaborated on key programmes such as the Center for Nigerian Dutch Dairy Development (CNDDD) and the Value for Dairy Consortium, which builds local expertise and strengthens relevant institutions to be self-sufficient in shaping the Nigerian dairy industry. The collaboration has been pulling together value chain actors with the right support from expert partners.

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, in other parts of Nigeria whilst supporting various dairy co-operatives in the country.”

Langat further explained, “Under the MoU, 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.”

The Honourable Minister, Nanono, stressed that the significance of the Dairy Value Chain MoU is to strengthen the small holder dairy farming business which will help transform the largely nomadic cattle herders to sedentary dairy farmers. This will involve providing required infrastructure and training along the value chain.

“We will set up crossbreeding centres to produce quality heifers and strengthen the capacity of pastoralist and small holder 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.

FMARD signed its first MoU on Dairy Value Chain Development in Nigeria (Demand Driven Approach) with FrieslandCampina WAMCO in 2011. It was renewed in 2016 and in 10 years, significant progress was made; especially the networking of milk suppliers, training and improving quality of raw milk. But other aspects that relate to infrastructure development and volume of milk supply were below targets set for the partnership.

In the face of dwindling revenue from oil and the need to diversify the economy, FMARD desires 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.

The parties seek to support their mutual goal of expanding economic opportunities in the dairy sub-sector and agree to renew the MoU to reflect their mutual intention to cooperate, coordinate and/or combine their resources to achieve this objective whilst taking concrete steps to resolve the challenges identified in the past five years.

FrieslandCampina and FMARD are committed to initiating policies, carrying out programs and projects aimed at accelerating the pace of development in the dairy value chain in Nigeria.