Nigeria, Arla Foods intensify talks on development of dairy

Following the recent meeting between the Prime Minister of Denmark, Lars Loekke Rasmussen and President Muhammadu Buhari, a high-powered Nigerian delegation from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Wednesday held talks in Denmark with Arla Foods on the development of the dairy sector in Nigeria.

Arla Foods is one of the world’s largest dairy companies. The visit is Arla’s second milestone in its declared commitment to invest in local production in Nigeria and help create a more sustainable local dairy industry, following the presentation of it’s signed letter of intent to Audu Ogbeh, minister for agriculture and rural development.

Arla’s letter of intent was presented in February 2016 at the same meeting where Denmark’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kristian Jensen signed a letter of Intent with the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture to cooperate on the development of the local agriculture sector in Nigeria.

The Nigerian delegation has representatives of the key line departments responsible for the dairy development, comprising Gideon Mshelbwala, director, Veterinary Services and Pest Control; Egejuru Eze, director, animal production and husbandry as well as senior technical adviser to the minister, Andrew Kwasari and Saleh Hassan, member, House of Representatives’ Committee on Agriculture.

While welcoming the delegation during a tour of one of Arla’s dairy farms, Steen Hadsbjerg, senior vice president and head of Arla Foods for sub-Saharan Africa, stated that, Nigeria was key to Arla’s ability to sell its farmer owners’ milk in West Africa in the future.

Hadsbejerg declared, “we understand that developing the Nigerian local dairy industry to create a sustainable value chain that contributes to food security, local jobs and prosperity are important issues for the government. The Nigerian government welcomes companies and initiative that will help this development.”