Kano, Jigawa Vow To Sustain N2.36bn Dairy Gains

The Kano and Jigawa State Governments have pledged to sustain the N2.36billion gains recorded by rural households through the six-year Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria(ALDDN) programme.

The commitment was made at the Kano-Jigawa state-level close-out event of the ALDDN programme, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and implemented by Sahel Consulting Agricultural and Nutrition Limited in partnership with private-sector dairy processors and government agencies.

The programme, which ran from 2020 to July 2026, enrolled 17,903 farmers and integrated 8,944 households into a structured dairy value chain across the two states.

The Head of Plant at L&Z, Fatima Aminu, representing the company’s Chief Executive Officer, said processors collected 2.6 million litres of milk from participating farmers during the programme, generating N2.36billion in direct value for rural households at an average price of N400 per litre.

She said the programme also supported 722 self-help groups and 57 cooperatives, while 933.9 hectares of land were cultivated for fodder production.

Aminu said 2,873 new bank accounts were opened for beneficiaries, while interventions including artificial insemination and veterinary services helped move pastoralists towards more consistent and bankable incomes.

She urged state governments to back a commercially driven, processor-led dairy model to guarantee continuous milk off-take, timely payment to farmers and sustainability beyond donor funding.

Speaking on behalf of the Jigawa State Commissioner for Livestock Development, Dr Abdullahi Muhammad, said the state government would not allow the gains of the programme to be lost.

Muhammad said Jigawa would sustain milk collection centres and dairy cooperatives, integrate ALDDN training modules into its livestock extension system, expand community animal health services and continue supporting women in dairy production.

He said the programme had improved animal nutrition, veterinary services, hygienic milk handling and farmers’ access to formal markets.

According to him, daily milk production increased from less than two litres to between five and seven litres per cow in many beneficiary households.

Similarly, the Kano State Commissioner for Livestock Development, Aliyu Isa Aliyu, represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Rabi Waya, pledged continued support for initiatives aimed at strengthening the local dairy sector.

The Managing Partner of Sahel Consulting, Temitope Adegoroye, said ALDDN had enrolled more than 63,000 smallholder dairy farmers across seven states and facilitated the supply of about 15 million litres of fresh milk to processor partners.

She said trained extension agents, artificial insemination technicians, community livestock workers and cooperatives would form part of the sustainability mechanisms after the programme’s closure.