Arla Foods empowers dairy farmers for improved milk quality
Arla Foods, the producers of Dano Milk, has shown their dedication to helping smallholder dairy farmers in Nigeria by training and funding them through the Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria (ALDDN) program. By doing this, Arla Foods is not only empowering these smallholder dairy farmers, but also helping to advance local dairy development as a whole in Nigeria.
The Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria (ALDDN) is a five-year program being implemented by Sahel Consulting and other private sector companies to improve the livelihoods, productivity, nutrition, and empowerment of smallholder dairy farmers and the communities in which they live. The program seeks to catalyse a vibrant local dairy sector by working in an inclusive manner that benefits all those involved.
At a ceremony where the first batch of milk cans was distributed to 30 farmers in Gadan Gayan Community in Kaduna State, Dairy Site Manager for Arla Foods, Ewarts Samuel, spoke about the objectives of the programme. The main goals are to increase demand for locally-sourced milk from smallholder dairy households, empower women dairy farmers, while also improving smallholder dairy farmers’ productivity.
He explained that the programme had recently bought 900 milk cans to distribute to smallholder dairy farmers in Nigeria. This is expected to help preserve milk received from the farmers and maintain high quality and good hygiene during milking and transportation.
“Arla Foods is currently working with local dairy farmers by buying their milk from our plant in Kaduna State. The milk is then processed into yogurt under the MILCOPAL brand. Through the ALDDN program, Arla also provides training for smallholder dairy farmers and gives funding support for certain key projects,” Samuel said.
In his remarks, Project Assistant at Sahel Consulting, Ahmed Mohammed, stated that the partnership with Arla Foods is geared towards transforming Nigeria’s agriculture and nutrition landscape.
“We are excited to be part of this partnership as this would help a great deal in addressing food security, malnutrition, and unemployment which will, in turn, drive economic growth and prosperity for families, communities, and Nigeria in general,” Mohammed said.
