Diary giant Arla has announced that it intends to establish a state-of-the-art commercial dairy farm in northern Nigeria.

Among other initiatives, the company aims to support and educate up to 1,000 local dairy producers and help develop the Nigerian dairy sector.

“There is a great need for nutritious food and dairy products to satisfy the growing demand from Nigeria’s fast growing population,” said Simon Stevens, the head of Arla Foods International.

“This requires a complementary approach where imported food is crucial to ensure food security while also supporting the government’s long-term agricultural transformation plan to build a sustainable dairy sector in Nigeria. Our new dairy farm is our next step in our commitment to Nigeria.”

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Meeting immense demand
Arla’s new 200 hectare farm will be located in the state of Kaduna and is expected to open in 2022.

The farm will have a capacity of 400 dairy cows and will include a modern milking room and housing for 25 employees.

Over time, the farm is expected to produce over 10 tonnes of milk every day. It will then be treated at Arla’s dairy production centre in Kaduna and then sold to the Nigerian consumers.

Nigeria is among the fastest growing nations in the world – the population is expected to surpass 400 million by 2050 – and there is already immense demand for nutritious and affordable food. 

However, the dairy industry in Nigeria currently only produces less than 10 percent of demanded dairy products. 

It’s not the first venture for Arla in Africa. 

Last year, the company helped develop a socially responsible and economically-sustainable supply chain for some 600 dairy producers in west Africa in co-operation with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Sahel Consulting and ALDDN (Advanced Local Dairy Development Nigeria).

Read more about the Arla’s development efforts in emerging markets here (in English).