Business

Dairy Manufacturers Seeking Policy Mix To Boost Nigeria’s Over 100 Million Litres of Milk Needs

Published

3 years ago

June 21, 2023

549 Views

Dairy manufacturers in Nigeria are requesting the government to put in place a policy mix that will allows them to be importing some of the raw materials while developing the sector through backward integration.

Ben Langat, the Managing Director of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Plc, spoke the minds of the industry’s operators, during a media chat.

” To be able to meet the total dairy nutrition demands in Nigeria, the local milk currently available is still very much inadequate.

So, in my opinion, the model that the country will run will still have a reasonable mix of importation of some of the raw materials, while local content is developed over a period,” he said .

Again, he said : We don’t produce the required machinery locally nor do we produce all raw materials locally; so there will always be something that needs to be imported.
From a milk production point of view, Nigeria has a hot, humid environment which typically is very good for beef cattle and that is why you see a lot of the Fulani cows doing very well.

To grow high milk-yielding cows, you have to put in extra effort and this is what we have been doing for many years. For over 12 years, FrieslandCampina WAMCO has continued to invest in the Nigerian dairy sector as it has been sourcing raw milk locally for manufacturing.

We are also the highest off-taker of fresh milk produced locally from five states in Nigeria (Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ondo, and Kwara States and also in the north).”

He said that that some of the company’s products are 100 percent locally sourced, however, in terms of the dairy nutrition needs of the country, local milk sourcing is still at a very low level.

” It’s such a big task that we have ahead of us as a nation. That notwithstanding, at FrieslandCampina WAMCO, we want to prove that it is doable, as we source about five million litres of milk per annum locally today. We are the highest so far as no other organisation has reached that number.

Nevertheless, we’re talking about a country that requires more than 100 million litres of milk, so when you do the calculations, you would see that the percentages are still low. There is still a long way to go.
Countries like Kenya and South Africa started local dairy development way back and they have continued on that journey. Nigeria kind of left this topic for a long time and that is why we are still in this phase of backward integration.

He urges the newly inaugurated government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to, consult FrieslandCampina WAMCO on dairy development topics, asserting ” we are a subject matter expert on local milk sourcing and knowledge transfer.

They can engage us on some of these topics leveraging forums like MAN – Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, NECA -Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association as well as the Food and Beverage Associations, and AFBTE, among others.
We are there as industry leaders. Let them consult us before taking sharp policy decisions,” he said.

Related Topics:Dairy Manufacturers Milk WAMCO PLC

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Naira Rates To Dollar, Pound ,Euro… Friday, October 2

Published

19 minutes ago

October 2, 2026

OCHEFA

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BLACK MARKET RATES

₦1375DOLLAR (USD)

₦1845 POUND (GBP)

EURO (EUR) ₦1550

₦1000 CANADIAN DOLLAR (CAD)

₦70 SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR)

₦370 UAE DIRHAM

₦190 CHINESE YUAN (CNY)

₦100 GHANA CEDI (GHS)

₦2350 CFA F.(XOF)

₦2250 CFA F.(XAF)

₦850 AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR (AUSSIE)

Official CBN Exchange Rates

DOLLAR (USD)₦1329.16

POUND (GBP)₦1766.59

EURO (EUR) ₦1510.06

SWISS FRANC (CHF) ₦1593.91

JAPANESE YEN (JPN)₦8.47

CFA FRANC (XOF) ₦2.30

WEST AFRICAN UNIT OF ACCOUNT (WAUA) ₦1807.23

CHINESE YUAN (CNY) ₦198.25

SAUDI RIYAL (SAR) ₦353.97

SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR) ₦81.18

Business

Obasanjo: “Aliko Embarrass Me”

He got all his workers together in that refinery and said, without telling me, and there, said…

Published

21 hours ago

October 1, 2026

OCHEFA

30 Views

Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has described Aliko Dangote as his “boss”, crediting the businessman’s industrial achievements to the policies and encouragement provided by his administration.

Obasanjo said this while speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Dangote East Africa Refinery in Lamu, Kenya, where he recalled his recent visit to the Dangote refinery and the businessman’s acknowledgement of the role he played in his transition from cement importation to production.

He said, “About two months ago, three months ago, I visited the refinery which you visited last week. And I just couldn’t stop being surprised what Aliko did. But then Aliko embarrassed me.”

According to Obasanjo, Dangote had gathered his workers during the visit and publicly attributed part of his success in cement production and the eventual development of his refinery to the policies and encouragement of the former president.

He said, “He got all his workers together in that refinery and said, without telling me, and there, said, all of you working here, all of you, the man you have to thank is this man, that’s me. I didn’t have anything to do with his refinery or what it is.

He said, without this man, I would not have been in cement production.“And it is the cement production that provided the encouragement, the inspiration for the refinery. So, thank you. They all shouted and thanked me.”

Obasanjo said Dangote had expanded the opportunities created by his administration beyond Nigeria, particularly through cement production across Africa, and was now replicating the model in the petroleum refining sector.

“May God continue to expand your coast. And you are my boss. You will continue to be my boss.”

Business

Minister Tasks Charcoal Merchants on Sustainable Forestry

The minister gave the charge at the flag-off of the 2026 Operation One Million Trees Tree Planting Programme organised by the Association for Forest Conservation and Green Industrial Charcoal Merchants at the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Ibadan.

Published

21 hours ago

October 1, 2026

OCHEFA

33 Views

•Charcoal merchants and other stakeholders in the forestry sector

The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abass Lawal, has charged charcoal merchants and other stakeholders in the forestry sector to embrace sustainable practices and support the federal government’s efforts to reverse deforestation and restore Nigeria’s degraded forest landscapes.

The programme, which brought together forestry practitioners, charcoal merchants, environmentalists, students, regulators and other stakeholders, is aimed at promoting afforestation and encouraging responsible management of Nigeria’s forest resources.

Speaking at the event, the minister described tree planting as one of the most practical measures for combating climate change, reversing deforestation, restoring biodiversity, controlling desertification and strengthening the resilience of the nation’s ecosystems.

The Chairman of the Association for Forest Conservation and Green Industrial Charcoal Merchants, Mr Adeshola Adebowale Idowu, emphasised that the event carried a clear message for everyone involved in the charcoal business and, indeed, every Nigerian.

Idowu said stakeholders should develop the habit of replacing trees removed from the environment, encouraging Nigerians to plant trees around their homes and communities.

He advocated a practice of planting several trees for every tree cut down, stressing that trees remain indispensable to human existence because many products used by society are derived from them

( THISDAY)