•Cattle eat their feed at T-Bar Dairy in Porterville, California
The federal government has announced plans to import dairy cattle from Denmark as part of a strategy to reduce dairy product imports, which cost the country $1.5 billion annually.
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, stated this yesterday as the country aims to double its milk production within five years, reports Channels TV.
“Our goal is ambitious but achievable — to double Nigeria’s milk production from 700,000 tonnes to 1.4 million tonnes annually in the next five years,” he said.
Maiha said Nigeria’s cattle population, which exceeds 20 million, consists largely of low-yielding pastoralist breeds.
He revealed that a Nigerian farm had already imported over 200 heifers from Denmark, building its herd through intensive breeding.
So far, he said, eight new pasture species have been registered, the first in 48 years, and a national strategy for animal genetic resources with support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation has been launched.
“With over 20.9 million cattle, 60 million sheep, and 1.4 million goats already, we are not starting from zero, we are building from strength,” Maiha said.
Nigeria’s milk output of 700,000 tonnes a year is way below its annual consumption of 1.6 million tonnes.
This shortfall means the country imports around 60 per cent of its milk.
