Ekiti State has taken delivery of another batch of 227 cows imported from the United States of America to Ikun dairy farm.
The new arrivals have increased the number of cows at the farm, a joint partnership of Ekiti State Government and the Promasidor Diary Company designed to produce 10,000 litres of milk daily.
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Governor Kayode Fayemi said the Ikun Dairy Farm would serve as a prototype for the National Livestock Transformation Plan in addressing the farmers-herders crisis in the country.
Fayemi, who pointed out that the new cows, which were pregnant would be confined to their sheds on the farm, said about 500 hectares of land have been acquired to grow fields that would be used to take care of the animals to prevent them from roaming about.
He said appropriate measures have been put in place to connect water directly from Ero Dam to achieve a seamless water supply and irrigation process on the farm.
The capacity of the Dairy Farm, which is being put to use for the first time in the last 40 years, according to Dr Fayemi, has been expanded to run a 24- hour operation in raising cattle and production of milk.
He said the dairy farm would also demonstrate Nigeria’s capacity to be a milk-producing nation rather than being a milk-importing nation.
The General Manager, Ikun Dairy Farm, Mr Hermann Kibler said the stage was set for the commencement of full-scale production, adding that the farm is still expecting a few hundreds of cows which he said would be delivered in the next couple of months.
