The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to transform the dairy value chain of the livestock sector for sustainable food security.The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, stated this at a news conference to mark the 2024 World Milk Day on Saturday in Abuja.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that June 1 is the global day for the celebration of the World Milk Day, with the 2024 theme as “Let’s celebrate Nutritious and Sustainable Dairy”.
Abdullahi said that the theme for Nigeria’s celebration for the day is “Harnessing the Nutrition and Investment opportunities in the Dairy Value Chain”.He said that both themes focused on celebrating the vital role dairy played in delivering quality nutrition especially to women and children.The minister said that its also aimed at improving the livelihoods of dairy farmers and other value chain actors, creating employment and increasing the economy of the country.“lt is pertinent to note the difficulty in attaining food and nutrition security without animal-source foods which provide the irreplaceable nutrients from animal protein sources required for growth and development.“With an estimated 2 million children in Nigeria suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) partly due to limited consumption of animal-source food, the role of milk consumption comes handy and to the rescue if made available.“Indeed, the recent National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey 2021 clearly indicated the level of deficiency affecting women and children in which milk products play critical ameliorating roles.”He said that the ministry, in collaboration with critical stakeholders, would launch a Renewed Hope Milk Industry public awareness campaigns.He said the campaign would highlight the importance of dairy products for nutrition and health, particularly among vulnerable groups like children and pregnant women.“We shall create ease of business for dairy industry with support policy and regulatory frameworks that foster a conducive environment for the dairy industry’s growth, ensuring quality standards and food safety,” he said.The President, Commercial Diary Ranchers Association of Nigeria (CODARAN), Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar, lauded the glival and national attention given milk.He reiterated CODARAN’s commitment to the production, processing, marketing and consumption of quality and nutritious diary products across Africa.Also, the Managing partner, Sahel Consulting Ltd, Mr Temi Adegoroyo, appreciated the collaboration between the firm and ministry in developing the local diary sector in Nigeria.“We are ensuring that we are linking many more private companies to smallholder farmers and building a responsive fresh milk supply chains in Nigeria.“The agenda is to increase the productivity of fresh milk in Nigeria,” Adegoroyo said.(NAN)
