Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, has announced that Nigeria is importing dairy cattle from Denmark as part of plans to double the country’s milk production within the next five years.
The initiative is aimed at closing a longstanding supply gap and reducing the nation’s reliance on dairy imports, which currently cost about $1.5 billion annually.
Despite having one of the largest cattle populations in Africa, Nigeria produces just 700,000 tonnes of milk each year.
This falls far short of the 1.6 million tonnes consumed domestically. The shortfall means the country imports about 60 percent of its dairy needs.
A major obstacle, according to the minister, is the low productivity of the country’s existing livestock. Nigeria has over 20 million cattle, but most are traditional pastoralist breeds that produce very little milk.
To address this, the government is turning to high-yield dairy cattle from Denmark, a country known for its advanced livestock genetics and dairy technology.
Already, a Nigerian farm has received over 200 heifers from Denmark and is using intensive breeding techniques to expand the herd. These imported breeds are expected to deliver much higher milk yields than the local varieties.
In addition, the country has launched a national framework for managing animal genetic resources with technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The strategy is expected to guide future breeding programmes and improve the overall quality of the national herd.
Maiha dismissed the notion that Nigeria was starting from scratch, stating, “We have over 20.9 million cattle, 60 million sheep, and 1.4 million goats, so we are not beginning from zero. We are building from strength.”
