To advance local dairy development in Nigeria, Arla Foods, makers of Dano Milk, has empowered smallholder dairy farmers in Kaduna with training and funding through the Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria (ALDDN) programme.
The ALDDN is a five-year programme implemented in conjunction with Sahel Consulting and other private sector companies to catalyse a vibrant local dairy sector in an inclusive way that improves the livelihoods, productivity, nutrition, and empowerment of smallholder dairy farmers and the communities in which they live.
Speaking during a ceremony to distribute the first batch of milk cans to 30 farmers in the Gadan Gayan community in Kaduna State, the Dairy Site Manager, Arla Foods, Ewarts Samuel, noted that the objectives are to increase demand for locally-sourced milk from smallholder dairy households, empower women dairy farmers, improve smallholder dairy farmers’ productivity.
A statement made available to our correspondent yesterday quoted Samuel as disclosing that the programme recently purchased 900 milk cans for distribution to smallholder dairy farmers in the country.
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This is expected to help preserve milk received from the farmers and ensure that high quality and good hygiene are maintained during milking and transportation.
“Arla is currently partnering with the local dairy farmers by offtaking their milk through our plant located in Kaduna State, where the milk is processed into yoghurt under the MILCOPAL brand.
“Under the ALDDN programme, Arla also facilitates training programmes for smallholder dairy farmers and provides funding support for certain key endeavours,” Samuel added.
