Nigeria’s dairy farmers suffer setback as lack of competitiveness stalls industry growth

...may reverse progress made

Nigeria has failed to grow its dairy industry in recent years despite efforts by the government to boost local production. The lack of competitiveness on the part of manufacturers is stalling the hope of ever having a flourishing dairy sector.

The farmers’ situation is further worsened by the low productivity of local cattle breeds and increasing tension and conflicts between herders and farmers.

Experts say that the inability of local manufacturers to compete could halt investments in the sector and progress made by the government in boosting local milk production to meet domestic demand.

“We are not globally competitive in dairy production. It costs about N300 to produce a litre of milk in Nigeria, as against imported powdered milk which is about N150 per litre,” Muhammadu Abubakar, managing director, L&Z Integrated Farms Limited, told Businessday.

“This is coupled with the fact that the Federal Government had lowered the tariff on imported milk last year and with the difficult operating environment, then how can local dairy farmers compete with producing a litre of milk at N300?” he asked.

Livestock productivity in Africa’s most populous country is among the lowest globally. Average milk yield of Holstein Friesian, a breed of dairy cattle from Netherlands, is 35-40 litres per day, while Nigeria’s most popular cattle breed Bunaji ( white Fulani) has an average milk yield of 1-2 litres per day.

This underscores the need for the government to prioritise breed improvement for farmers to increase their yields per litre.

Nigeria’s dairy industry comprises milk, cheese, yoghurt, ice- cream, butter and infant formula.

A report by Agusto & Co. says that the milk segment remains the largest in the industry, accounting for an estimated 61 percent of the industry’s turn- over.

“The problem we have in the sector is not just production but the harnessing of the milk, and getting it at a right quality to the processing centres is also a problem,” Iian Bones, manager, Milky-way Farms, said.

“There are little dairy infrastructures for farmers in the country and all these factors make it difficult for Nigerian farmers to compete, and this as well is hindering the growth of the industry,” Bones said.