The Federal Government has launched an expanded drive to revamp Nigeria’s dairy sector by backing commercial models that improve livestock genetics, scale up milk collection, and introduce modern farming technologies.
Speaking during the final day of his 3-day working tour in Kano State, the Honourable Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, visited key dairy and breeding facilities to assess private and public investments aimed at lifting local milk output and lowering the country’s heavy reliance on imported dairy products.
During his visit, the Minister commissioned an upgraded Milk Collection Centre (MCC) run by L&Z Integrated Farms in Kadawa, Kura Local Government Area.
The upgrade has successfully doubled the facility’s milk handling capacity from 10,000 litres to 20,000 litres, creating a more efficient cold-chain network that connects pastoralists directly to major processors.
The company, led by Managing Director Muhammadu Damakka Abubakar, revealed that it operates nine solar-powered collection centres across Kano, Jigawa, and Bauchi States.
These hubs support over 4,000 smallholder farmers across 53 cooperatives, with Chief Operating Officer Dr Adelaja Ayo adding that the company plans to onboard an additional 3,000 farmers before the end of 2026.
Minister Maiha particularly praised the firm’s creation of a comprehensive digital database of dairy farmers, describing reliable data as fundamental for evidence-based planning and effective service delivery.
“Data is fundamental to livestock development. It enables government and investors alike to understand farmers’ needs, design targeted interventions and measure impact. This is exactly the direction the sector should be taking,” he stated.
The Minister also inspected irrigated pasture projects designed to stop seasonal feed shortages and guarantee quality livestock feed throughout the year.
The tour concluded at the Kadawa Artificial Insemination and Genetics Centre in Garum Malam Local Government Area, where the Minister observed semen collection, preservation, and breeding procedures.
While praising the Kano State Government for upgrading the site, Maiha stressed that the facility must be run commercially through Public-Private Partnerships. “This centre has enormous potential.
We must begin to operate it commercially through carefully structured Public-Private Partnerships. It is not just an artificial insemination centre; it is a genetics centre,” Mukhtar stated, urging operators to focus on long-term breeding research and stricter biosecurity before rounding off his tour at the Kano Livestock Service Centre in Bagauda.
Source: FMLD
