Fan Milk Plc to Establish Dairy Farm and Training Institute in Nigeria as Part of Backward Integration Program
Fan Milk Plc, Nigerian subsidiary of multinational food-products corporation Danone, has inked a partnership agreement with the government of Ogun state to undertake a backward integration project to enhance local dairy production.
The signing ceremony was undertaken on 28th January 2020, with the attendance of the French Ambassador to Nigeria His Excelency Mr Jerome Pasquier, the Regional Economic Counsellor Pascal Furth the Regional Agricultural Counsellor Sonia Darracq Managing Director Fan Milk Plc Ferdinand MOUKO, Plant Director Fan Milk Plc Olasunkanmi Olumuyi
The initiative is in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy to discourage the importation of dairy products like milk, yogurt, cheese and other milk derivatives of which the country spends about US$1.5 billion annually.
“We are quite elated as this marks the beginning of one Danone & Fan Milk social impact project in Nigeria considering the effect we expect this project to have on the host community in Ogun State,” stated Olakunle Olusanya, Company Secretary & Legal Adviser Fan Milk Plc in a LinkedIn post.
As part of the project, Fan Milk has laid the foundation for establishment of a world-class Model Dairy Farm and Training Institute at Odeda Farm Institute, bringing the expertise of its parent company to the fore.
Danone is a world class, leading food and beverage company with recognized expertise in fresh dairy products in over 120 markets worldwide, including in Africa I.e., Morocco, Algeria, South Africa and Egypt and also, through joint ventures with local partners, Kenya, Uganda & Tanzania (Brookside) and Tunisia (Stial/Delice Danone).
The technical institute developed will train local dairy farmers and improve their skills while the dairy farm will also incorporate pasture development.
The partnership agreement is aimed to improve the local farmer and community participation in dairy farming, with a target of 1.4 million producing litres of milk in the next 24 months, reports Ogun Today.
Other than Fan Milk, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, another leading dairy processor in the country is also undertaking a backward integration plan debut Dairy Development Programme (DDP).
Through DDP the company has made huge strides in the dairy industry, recording an increase in fresh milk collection from farmers to hit an all-time high record of 40,000 litres of milk per day.
Meanwhile consumer goods manufacturer, Promasidor Nigeria has also invested US$5m (N2bn) in Ekiti State, Nigeria aimed to reactivate the Moribund Ikun Dairy Farm.
To further support local milk production in the country, CBN entered into a partnership in 2019 with four companies i.e., Friesland Campina WAMCO, Neon Agro, Chi Limited to invest in Bobi Grazing Reserve in Niger State.
Source: www.foodbusinessafrica.com
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