Outspan Nigeria Limited, a prominent subsidiary of Olam Food Ingredients (OFI), has utilised the 2026 World Milk Day commemoration in Kano State to spotlight the contributions of women dairy farmers and reinforce its commitment to local dairy value chain growth.
The milestone event, organised in collaboration with the Kano Dairy Cooperative Federation, highlighted the multinational’s targeted backward integration investments engineered to transition rural pastoralists into an inclusive, high-yield commercial dairy ecosystem.
The multi-year intervention framework is designed to structurally reverse Nigeria’s heavy reliance on imported dairy commodities by upgrading domestic raw milk collection networks.
Speaking at the commemorative assembly, the Manager of the Backwards Integration Programme (Dairy) for Outspan Nigeria, Dr Isah Abubakar, explained that the corporate strategy is anchored upon four core operational pillars: genetic herd improvement, localised feed support, proactive animal healthcare, and direct livelihood backing for pastoralist settlements.
Through the deployment of systematic artificial insemination programs, the business is successfully introducing superior genetics to maximise daily milk yields per cow.
To cushion herders against seasonal climate disruptions, Outspan is actively training rural farmers in advanced crop residue utilisation and pasture cultivation, guaranteeing an uninterrupted feed supply during dry-season cycles.
Simultaneously, the company’s mobile veterinary extension units execute annual animal vaccination and deworming exercises to keep herds insulated from transboundary livestock plagues.
Delivering a goodwill address, the District Head of Dawakin Kudu, Alhaji Abba Yusuf, noted that this continuous structural support has drastically increased household income levels across his domain while enabling greater school attendance among pastoralist children through targeted donations of educational materials.
In strict alignment with the global 2026 World Milk Day theme, “Celebrating Women Dairy Farmers,” the company hosted an executive award ceremony to recognise top female operators within the regional supply network.
Emerging as the Best Female Participant in her category, Rakia Saadu expressed profound gratitude for the formal industrial recognition, noting that the gesture provides significant motivation for women to scale up their independent dairy businesses.
Validating the corporate footprint, the representative of the Kano State Ministry of Livestock Development, Yahaya Abbas, lauded the Outspan-Kano Dairy partnership as a stellar template for public-private cooperation capable of driving systemic agricultural transformation and long-term rural prosperity.
Source: The Sun News
