Kano State Plans to Allocate ₦3.9bn for 60 Milk Collection Sites
Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf is promoting a transformative agricultural initiative to boost the dairy sector, committing a sizable 3.9 billion budget to the establishment of 60 state-of-the-art Milk Collection Centers across the region.
On Wednesday, Ameen Yassar, the Project Communication Specialist in charge of this ambitious venture in Kano, shared key details. This massive project is being funded by prestigious financial institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank and the Lives and Livelihood Funds. The overarching goal is to improve milk quality through the implementation of a cutting-edge refrigerated supply chain, rather than just infrastructural development.
The project's procurement process has been meticulously structured into four distinct segments, with contracts awarded to local businesses. These indigenous businesses have been tasked with carrying out this vision within a one-year time frame. Each Milk Collection Center is envisioned as a complete facility, complete with a borehole, a cutting-edge solar-powered pump system, a large 20,000-liter elevated storage tank, and a dedicated supply depot managed by a community-appointed representative. Furthermore, each center will be strategically surrounded by approximately ten fodder storage facilities, ensuring a long-term ecosystem.
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Each center will incorporate advanced technology, including a specialized 250-liter tank kept at an optimal temperature by solar-powered cooling mechanisms, as well as a sophisticated laboratory outfitted with necessary testing materials and specialized containers designed for efficient milk collection.
Ibrahim Muhammad, the esteemed Project Coordinator for KSADP, emphasized the importance of this investment, hailing it as a game-changer in Nigeria's agricultural landscape. "One cannot overlook the pervasive challenges plaguing the dairy industry, particularly erratic supply patterns and compromised milk quality," he said. This game-changing initiative is meticulously designed to address these issues, ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality milk while promoting economic stability for livestock herders.
Muhammad concluded with a passionate call to action, urging the contracted companies to uphold the highest standards of integrity and professionalism, emphasizing the importance of delivering long-lasting, high-quality projects within the agreed-upon timeframe, thereby protecting the trust and expectations of all stakeholders involved.
Kano Dairy Cooperative Union (KDCU) is an umbrella organization for 74 primary cooperative societies from the state's various local government areas. These cooperative societies are formed by groups of dairy farmers who want to learn modern dairy farming practices and stop grazing in order to settle in one location. The cooperative union has approximately 12,500 members drawn from 74 cooperative societies. We were able to divide the cooperatives into three (3) senatorial districts or state zones.
One of the cooperatives' goals is to provide a consistent and sustainable dairy market for their members, putting an end to roaming or open grazing among farmers. The raw milk supplied by the members can be off-taken by potential off-takers and processed into a variety of dairy products. Outspan Nigeria Limited, the dairy business unit of Olam Food Ingredient (ofi), recognized our vision and approached the union to establish a partnership framework to off-take raw milk from our members and process it into various products. In 2020, the union agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Outspan Nigeria Ltd.
As part of this MoU, Olam intends to develop and implement a backward integration plan to improve and support the dairy value chain, in line with the federal government's plan for dairy self-sufficiency. Despite the fact that it was only formally registered as an organization in 2017, the union has accomplished a great deal. The union seeks to relieve the women who have traditionally hawked local milk day by day, which, given changes in consumer lifestyles, does not provide a commensurate value for the efforts put into raw milk production. As a result, we go into the cluster, collect milk from all the clusters, and relieve the women of street hawking so they can focus on raising their children well while the milk is off taken and sold to the corporate off-takers. Another objective is to generate direct and indirect employment opportunities for the youth.
Another goal is to raise awareness among our members and encourage them to adopt modern dairy farming practices, as well as to assist them in practicing animal husbandry on a commercial scale, rather than viewing it as a cultural heritage. We also realized that the majority of our people are currently living below their potential due to their inability to utilize available resources or convert them to economic means. What we do is buy their raw milk and make sure they have a steady income so they can move up the socioeconomic ladder, which is where the majority of them are now. We began modestly.
How much support do you get from the Kano State government?
The Kano State government has been supportive, particularly in terms of putting policies in place and driving partnership frameworks between the union and private institutions to ensure the dairy sector's growth. To the government, we are like a child. They were also present when the Kano State Dairy Union and Outspan Nigeria Limited signed a partnership agreement. They have created an environment that allows us to run our business smoothly. There are also several programs for dairy farmers in the state that are nearing completion.
There is currently an initiative called the agro-pastoral development program that is aimed at assisting livestock farmers. There is also a project being driven by a collaboration between the federal and state governments that aims to improve our operations.. The federal government has been highly supportive of dairy farmers. It donated and equipped the bulking centre that was upgraded by Outspan Nigeria Limited.
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