- The minister said that the Federal Government was mindful of the key issues and challenges of the diary sector
Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, announced that Nigerians consume 1.6 billion liters of milk annually.
He shared this at a news conference in Abuja for World Milk Day 2024, themed “Let’s celebrate nutritious and sustainable dairy.” Nigeria’s specific theme is “Harnessing the nutrition and investment opportunities in the dairy value chain.”
The themes emphasize dairy’s role in providing nutrition, especially for women and children, and in boosting farmers’ livelihoods, employment, and economic growth. Nigeria spends $1.5 billion annually on dairy imports, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“This is because of our production deficit which stood at nearly 60 per cent as Nigerians consumed an average of 1.6 billion litres of milk and its products. The passionate dream of President Bola Tinubu is for us to attain national production security to even lead to export of dairy products to African countries under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
“It is in pursuance of this priority plan that speedy actions to transform the livestock sector especially the dairy value chain towards attaining food and nutrition security becomes not only imperative but an urgent national duty,” he said.
The minister said that the Federal Government was mindful of the key issues and challenges of the diary sector.