FG moves to reduce import of milk, yoghurt products

The Federal Government has expressed determination to reduce importation of dairy products such as milk and yoghurt, and increase local production.

Government, through the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ernest Umakhihe, disclosed this yesterday at the validation workshop on the national dairy policy, yesterday in Abuja.

“We have carefully followed all the preliminary steps to this stage which is validation of the draft policy document.

“The draft policy will support the implementation of the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Plan (NATIP) and FMARD.

“It will give defined direction for the country’s dairy industry where all players at whatever scale will be expected to abide by rules of operation, in terms of production, processing and marketing of dairy products in Nigeria.

“The National Dairy Policy for the country is apt for the realization of the vision of the Federal Government articulated through the change approach and a standard practice to be applied at every level of society, public and private, towards a pragmatic national development,” he said.

Director, Animal Husbandry Services, Winnie Lai-Solarin, stated that the dairy sub sector plays a significant role in the country’s agro-economy, contributes to the qualitative nutrition of the citizenry and the overall food security status of the nation.

Lai-Solarin added that the major issue is that of low milk yield, poor handling, and post-harvest losses of Dairy products stating that, “we need to continually improve the productivity of dairy animals genetically. Health and management practices to be able to respond to market-driven productivity objectives.”