Dairy farmers in Kano have experienced improved productivity across value chain and fewer conflicts between herders and farmers through partnering with Outspan Nigeria.
Speaking at the 2024 World Milk Day commemorative event in Kano, the farmers attested to the impact of the business’ backward integration investment.
Outspan Nigeria Ltd, a subsidiary of Olam Food ingredients (ofi), initiated a backward integration programme in the dairy value chain in 2019. In partnership with the Kano Dairy Cooperative Union, the business embarked on investment targeted at raising dairy farmers’ capacities, improve milk collection and storage facilities around farming clusters and scale up cattle health support.
The efforts triggered improved herd productivity and lowered the rate of open grazing which previously had led to conflict between herdsmen and farmers.
The efforts also helped raise dairy farmers’ wives’ incomes which helped more of their children to attend school.
The 2024 World Milk Day, which focused on celebrating the vital role dairy plays in delivering quality nutrition to nourish the world’, provided an opportunity for dairy farmers and key stakeholders to extend gratitude to the business for the role it has played so far in their community.
A senior lecturer at Kano State Polytechnic and Technical Assistant to the Senior Assistant to the State Governor on Cooperative Groups, Dr Hassan Muhammed Imam, said: “Conflict issues between herdsmen and farmers have been in existence for decades. But the coming of Outspan Nigeria into the Kano dairy value chain has enabled dairy farmers to settle in one place and reduce unnecessary movement of herds, which previously created a dispute between herdsmen and local farmers.
“The intervention has ensured the herdsmen can access feed for their cattle without roaming around farmlands. This arrangement has led to harmony in the communities.”
A dairy farmer and the Financial Secretary of Kano Dairy Cooperative, Salisu Dahiru, said: “Before the coming of Outspan into Kano Dairy Cooperative we used to have a lot of crises in our localities. But since 2019 when we started partnering with the business the crises began to decline by about 70 to 80 per cent. The business provided us with feed that reduced grazing. They also train us on how to raise dairy herd productivity.”
The Chairman of the Kano Dairy Cooperative Union, Abdullahi Usman, and the District Head for Dawakin Kudu Local Council, Sani Umar, expressed gratitude for the support the cooperative continues to receive from Outspan.
Speaking at the event, Dairy Sales Manager, B2B, for Outspan Nigeria, Chioma Eze, said: “It has been five years since we embarked on this journey with Kano Dairy Cooperative Union, and we are very pleased to see the results of our hard work come to fruition. What began as a small pilot project has grown into this successful venture, and we believe there is potential for it to grow to greater heights.”
Vice President of ofi’s dairy business in Nigeria, Praveen Paulsamy, said: “We are committed to the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda. We will continue to consider opportunities that enable quality investments in developing the local dairy value chain to drive more productivity in dairy farming communities.”
