Through the Advancing Local Dairy Development (ALDDN) programme, the Federal Government is looking to develop the National Dairy Policy in partnership with Sahel Consulting. Drafted by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), the aim is to boost dairy production in Nigeria in a bid to attain its food security goals.
The ALDDN programmer utilizes the systematic approach of encouraging and boosting the dairy sector through improved productivity of the local breeds and promoting local sourcing of milk. In addition, it seeks to increase milk production through improvements in genetics and breeding, access to animal health services, and training of farmers on best practices.
In a previous report, Nigeria currently spends billions of dollars on importation of dairy products, with Nigerians currently consuming over 60% of imported dairy products. According to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, implementing this policy would boost interest in developing the sector.
Stakeholders resolved that commercial feed and fodder production in Nigeria is vital to developing the value chain. The National Daily Policy, when implemented, will encourage farmers to produce fodder for commercial use and off-take it to smallholder dairy farmers for the improvement of animal health, productivity, and household income.
In this regard, the ALDDN has engaged 140 commercial fodder producers to cultivate about 400 hectares of land through the farming of cereals, grass, and legumes to produce silage and hay.
