The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to dairy development in Nigeria, aiming to boost local milk production and reduce reliance on imports.
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar, made this known during a courtesy visit in Abuja by a delegation from the French Development Agency (AFD) led by Country Director Xavier Muron, alongside representatives from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Mukhtar stated that the government’s dairy programme will be private sector-driven, and identified it as one of the key pillars of the Nigeria Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy (NL-GAS)— the Ministry’s guiding framework.
The Minister acknowledged several longstanding challenges affecting the dairy sector, including limited milk collection and storage facilities, high transportation costs, and inadequate logistics infrastructure.
He also revealed that some state governments are already supporting the livestock transformation agenda by providing land, a critical input for large-scale dairy and livestock development.
Highlighting the need for sustainable practices, Mukhtar urged pastoralists to make use of grazing reserves, where the government is facilitating breed improvement, disease management, and pasture cultivation. These measures, he said, are essential to reduce herder-farmer conflicts.
“We don’t want movement of animals from one place to another due to issues of insecurity associated with the search for grazing land,” the Minister emphasized.
He assured the visiting delegation of the Ministry’s full support for transforming the dairy industry, pointing to Nigeria’s large population — especially the estimated 47 million children — as a strong market for dairy products.
Speaking on behalf of the French Development Agency, Country Director Xavier Muron confirmed the agency’s partnership with ECOWAS on dairy and pasture development initiatives.
“Our objectives are to support local milk production, plans to reduce importation, as well as encourage backwards integration in all West African countries,” Muron said.
He added that the AFD is finalizing plans to provide grants to support Nigeria’s local milk producers.
