Nigeria imports at least 70 percent of dairy products the country consumes annually, spending a huge amount of money, the Regional Manager of Olam Nigeria Limited, Mr Manish Khede, has said.
He made the assertion in his address at the official launch of the artificial insemination programme for 100 cows at Yar Kanya village in Dawakin Tofa local government of Kano State.
He said the margin between the total dairy requirement of Nigeria and the total quantity produced locally is huge, adding that there is a need for stakeholders to scale up dairy production in the country.
“Despite the potential in the dairy industry, 70 percent of dairy products consumed in the country are imported while the remaining 30 percent is produced locally.
“This shows that there is a need for stakeholders in dairy production to do something. This artificial insemination is one of the things that need to be promoted to ensure a boost in the sector,” he said.
While commending Kano Dairy Cooperative Union for coordinating the insemination project with support from Outspan, the Assistant Director, Livestock Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Bashir Muhammad Danjanku, stated that due to the need to scale up production in the dairy sector, the federal government is also going to inseminate 100 cows in Kano State to support the project.
