Following years of an already successful partnership between European dairy cooperative Arla Foods and the Nigerian government, both parties recently signed a memorandum of understanding to continue their efforts and develop the Nigerian dairy sector even further.
The signing took place at the Arla Innovation Centre in Aarhus, where a delegation from The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development led by Dr Ernest A. Umakhihe, along with representatives from Arla Foods, put pen to paper on a new 5-year agreement building on the foundation from the previous years.
In the new memorandum, the parties commit to developing the local dairy sector by promoting cooperative business structures among nomadic herders, offering training and knowledge sharing opportunities, continuing product development and focus on sustainability and the creation of employment and better livelihoods for local dairy farmers.
Said Peder Pedersen, Senior Director and head of Arla Nigeria: “The Nigerian dairy sector has great potential and the combination of an entrepreneurial Nigerian mindset; a growing economy and our dairy farming expertise makes this a fruitful partnership for everyone involved. Being able to support the current demand with our products while at the same time contributing to the development of the local sector in a sustainable way is both practical and meaningful, and I am very happy that we have signed a new agreement.”
Besides working with the Nigerian government, Arla Foods is also involved in several other dairy development projects in the country. Amongst those are training sessions for local farmers in order to maximise the output and quality of their milk pool under the Milky Way partnership and the imminent opening of a state-of-the-art Arla-driven farm in Kaduna State. For more visit arla.com
