In celebration of World Milk Day 2025 with the theme ‘Let’s Have fun the Energy of Dairy’, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria PLC, producers of Peak, Three Crowns, Coast, Olympic, and Nunu Milk manufacturers, has introduced plans to ascertain a Dairy Academy in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Livestock Improvement in Nigeria. This initiative is designed to strengthen native capability and increase Nigeria’s dairy sector sustainably.
The announcement was made by Roger Adou, Managing Director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, through the 2025 World Milk Day Convention in Abuja, organized by the Federal Ministry of Livestock Improvement in partnership with dairy stakeholders and nationwide establishments. The proposed Dairy Academy shall be situated on 20-hectare plots at Maya Farm in Oyo State, owned by FrieslandCampina WAMCO, and can function a specialised coaching hub for dairy farmers and repair suppliers. The academy will ship trendy coaching in dairy farming, milk hygiene, animal well being, and climate-smart agriculture.
The Dairy Academy may even supply versatile programs alongside an intensive Synthetic Insemination (AI) course. To facilitate efficient studying, the power shall be outfitted with a 200-seat coaching corridor, a laboratory, cow sheds, hay barns, silage storage, and important farm equipment, together with tractors, growth sprayers, harvesters, and manure spreaders.
FrieslandCampina WAMCO’s Dairy Improvement mannequin stays a main instance to speed up a sustainable dairy sector in Nigeria. Since its inception in 2010, the initiative has expanded throughout seven (7) states; Oyo, Ogun, Kwara, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). At this time, over 15,000 farmers are a part of the community together with ladies and youth who’ve been educated. 30 milk assortment centres have been established to enhance milk aggregation and chilly chain reliability, with each day milk assortment exceeding 40,000 litres at peak interval.
The corporate has prioritized veterinary well being in collaboration with state agricultural authorities and the Federal Ministry of Livestock Improvement, leading to over 10,000 cattle vaccinations throughout host communities. Its funding in breed enchancment is clear within the delivery of greater than 900 Girolando crossbreed calves to this point, an essential step towards rising native yields.
Launched in April 2021, the Value4Dairy Consortium, the primary enterprise companion mannequin of its variety in Nigeria, established three dairy zones in Oyo, Osun, and Abuja. By this consortium, FrieslandCampina WAMCO and its companions have executed over 1,351 synthetic inseminations with a 65% success fee.
Greater than 3,300 farmers have been educated in Good Dairy Farming Practices (GDFP), and the initiative has facilitated the development of three extra milk assortment centres, 15 solar-powered coolers for contemporary milk assortment and 23 photo voltaic powered boreholes to assist dairy hygiene. Moreover, we’ve partnered with over 25 smallholder dairy farmers to assist key initiatives in breed enchancment, feed and pasture improvement.
As a part of this initiative, greater than 10 farmers have every been allotted 5-hectare plots or extra for pasture cultivation on the Fashola Hub throughout the 300-hectare improvement land allotted to FrieslandCampina WAMCO in Oyo State.
Talking on the importance of this growth, Ore Famurewa, Govt Director, Company Affairs, said, “The institution of a Dairy Academy represents a significant leap ahead in constructing the technical competencies and enterprise data of dairy farmers. We’re dedicated to growing Nigeria right into a centre of dairy excellence by means of sustainable backward integration and strategic partnerships.”
The Honourable Minister of Livestock Improvement, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, emphasised that the Dairy Academy will function a nationwide useful resource for empowering rural farmers to enhance milk high quality and yield in addition to present sustainable employment alternatives.
Reinforcing this imaginative and prescient, Roger Adou remarked; “Our collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Livestock Improvement on the Dairy Academy builds on our long-term dedication to remodel Nigeria’s dairy worth chain. Empowering farmers with data, trendy expertise, and sustainable practices is important to constructing a self-sufficient dairy sector. FrieslandCampina WAMCO is dedicated to creating inexpensive, high-quality milk accessible to each family.”
FrieslandCampina WAMCO reaffirms its imaginative and prescient to develop native sourcing, enhance livelihoods of native farmers, and increase infrastructure, guaranteeing that the dairy sector turns into a catalyst for {economic} development, innovation, and nationwide meals safety.
