Nigerian Farmers Earn N5bn from Dairy Sales in Six Years

Over 63,000 smallholder dairy farmers across seven Nigerian states generated N5 billion in milk sales within six years, according to Temitope Adegoroye, Managing Partner at Sahel Consulting. This achievement was announced during the close-out of the Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria (ALDDN) programme, funded by the Gates Foundation.

The farmers, organized into 2,663 self-help groups and 234 cooperatives, supplied approximately 15 million litres of fresh milk to processors. Adegoroye noted that Nigeria has 20.9 million cattle, but only 2.4 million are utilized for dairy, indicating significant untapped potential.

Dr Abdullahi Muhammad, representing the Commissioner for Livestock Development in Jigawa State, stated that the programme enhanced dairy production, animal health, nutrition, and market access, with daily milk yields increasing from less than two litres to between five and seven litres per cow. He emphasized the importance of sustaining these gains through government support and the integration of training modules into the livestock extension system.