NIGERIA – World’s leading food processing and packaging solutions company Tetra Pak, has donated solar-powered boreholes and stainless-steel milk collection containers to dairy producing communities in Nigeria.

The support is aimed to enable the dairy farmers access clean water and transportation of their fresh milk to collection centres.

Tetra Pak’s Managing Director West Africa, Oshiokamele Aruna, highlighted that as the demand for dairy products keeps rising across the world, there was an urgent need to focus on sustainable dairy development especially in Africa, as guided by the UN SDGs.

“Statistics show that with a population now above 200 million, and an annual dairy consumption approaching 1.6 billion litres, only 16 per cent of the milk consumed in Nigeria is produced locally. This means Nigeria spends an average of US$1.5bn a year importing dairy products.

“While several factors are affecting the dairy value chain in Nigeria, Tetra Pak identified the top two challenges surrounding these unpleasant statistics as being the farming communities’ lack of clean water sources for the cattle, and the unhygienic and unsafe transportation of fresh milk from the farms into the commercial milk production value chain,” he said.

The initiative aligns with the government’s goal of increasing milk production from the current 600,000 metric tonnes to 1,700,000 metric tonnes by 2024.

The boreholes being solar-powered means that these communities will have access to clean water 24/7 with no negative impact to the environment.

“Statistics show that with a population now above 200 million, and an annual dairy consumption approaching 1.6 billion litres, only 16 per cent of the milk consumed in Nigeria is produced locally. This means Nigeria spends an average of US$1.5bn a year importing dairy products.”

Tetra Pak Managing Director West Africa – Oshiokamele Aruna

They no longer have to rely on compromised water sources nearby that can spread disease in their communities.

The Dairy Hub model would ensure a consistent supply of milk produced by the communities, eliminate wastage and create a sustainable source of income for the dairy farmers.

Shifting focus to the agriculture sector, Farmforte Limited has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Agricultural Fresh Produce Growers and Exporters Association of Nigeria (AFGEAN); HYBR, a Pan African Innovation firm; and ALTS, a consulting and strategy development firm.

Framforte Limited is an innovation-driven and impact-oriented company with significant play in the agriculture, manufacturing, retail, and technology sectors.

The quadripartite partnership will strengthen common interest cooperation and stimulate inclusive and sustainable growth within the agricultural sector, by capitalising on the synergy and comparative advantage offered by each organisation.

The partnership combines a depth of experience in innovation, strategy, policy, and value chain development to help design and build solutions that will drive true transformation in the agricultural sector.