Milk import gulps N619.5bn annually

Milk importation into Nigeria gulps N619.5 billion (about $1.5bn) years due to the country’s non-self-sufficiency in milk production.

Speaking during the webinar on the Nigerian Dairy Industry organised by the Policy Centre of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) to mark World Milk Day, 2021, a representative of the Action Aids Nigeria, Mr Azubike Nwokoye, said the daily average milk yield of a cattle in Nigeria is one to two litres unlike in developed countries with almost 20 litres.

Nwokoye called for the transformation of the livestock industry in Nigeria to address the current national security challenges.

The President of ACCI, Dr Al-Mujtaba Abubakar, called for an intensive Backward Integration Plan (BIP) within the Dairy Sector is currently championed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Agriculture.

“The major policy thrust of the ACCI-Policy brief on the dairy sub-sector are as follows: Continuation and expansion of the backward integration currently being supported by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Private-sector-driven implementation of the National livestock transformation plan, Creation of the private sector-driven ranching system, Establishment of a National Dairy Board, Training and capacity building of pastoralists and Deployment of modern technology to every segment of the dairy business.”

The Director-General of ACCI, Victoria Akai advised the governments at all levels to put the private sector in the driver seat on the implementation of the national livestock transformation plan.

Akai said the question of Public-Private Partnership is at the heart of the ACCI policy brief which will be widely circulated to governments and stakeholders for actions.