FG Targets Higher Local Milk Output With Nationwide Dairy Expansion

The federal government has unveiled plans to replicate successful dairy production models across the country as part of efforts to increase local milk production, improve livestock genetics and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported dairy products.

The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, disclosed this on Monday during the third day of his working visit to Kano State, where he commissioned the upgraded L&Z Integrated Farms Milk Collection Centre in Kadawa, which has doubled its milk handling capacity from 10,000 litres to 20,000 litres.

Maiha said the federal government would identify and scale proven innovations in milk collection, livestock genetics, pasture development and technology through stronger collaboration with the private sector, development partners and livestock producers.

According to him, expanding successful dairy models across Nigeria is critical to transforming the livestock sector, improving productivity and strengthening the country’s food security.

He described the expansion of the milk collection centre as a significant milestone in building an efficient dairy value chain, noting that increased milk aggregation capacity would help reduce post-harvest losses, improve quality assurance and strengthen cold-chain infrastructure linking pastoral communities to processors.

The minister also commended L&Z Integrated Farms for investing in milk aggregation, farmer development, irrigated pasture production and digital data management, stressing that reliable data is essential for evidence-based planning and targeted interventions in the livestock sector.

Management of the company said it has established nine solar-powered milk collection centres across Kano, Jigawa and Bauchi states, serving more than 4,000 smallholder dairy farmers organised into 53 cooperatives across over 850 settlements.

The company added that it plans to onboard an additional 3,000 farmers before the end of 2026 as part of efforts to expand local dairy production.

During the visit, the minister also inspected the Kadawa Artificial Insemination and Genetics Centre, where he called for the facility to evolve into a commercially driven livestock genetics hub through public-private partnerships to support breeding research, genetic improvement and increased milk and meat production.