Dano milk maker Arla Foods opens Kaduna farm with big target

Danish-based Arla Foods, maker of Dano milk, has opened a dairy farm in Kaduna targeting the production of 4 million kilograms or 4,000 tonnes of milk annually.

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The farm, located in Damau village, Kubau Local Government Area, was inaugurated on Thursday by Governor Nasir El-Rufai. It covers 400 hectares of land, with the capacity to house 400 milking cows and 1000 animals in total. The farm is currently home to 216 Danish Holstein cows, which arrived in May 2023, the company said.

Arla Foods is a dairy company with around 8400 farmer owners in seven Northern European countries.

The executive vice president of Arla Foods International, Simon Stevens, said the Nigeria farm was delivered at the cost of over 10 million euros.

“This milestone symbolises what can be achieved with strong partnerships. We can see how the contribution of the Kaduna State Government, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, NGOs, the farming community, and many more have helped to deliver a big project,” he said.

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The head of Arla Foods West Africa, Anna Månsson, said over 40 people would be directly employed at the farm, especially those within the Damau community. The farm is expected to produce 1.6 million kg of milk in 2024, with a target of 4 million kg or 4,000 tonnes of milk annual production, she said.

Nigeria’s total milk production in 2021 was 531,587 thousand tonnes. Of that figure, over 90% came from cattle in low input, low yielding pastoral systems and traded in informal value chains.

The managing director, Arla Nigeria, Peder Pedersen, said the 216 Danish Holstein cows are known to have a higher yield than local breeds, and are expected to produce 5 million kg of milk per year at the farm’s full capacity.

The commissioning of the project was a culmination of events that began with the signing of a lease agreement with the Kaduna government in 2021, resulting in the securing of farmland and followed by construction work.

Mr El-Rufai described the farm as a significant milestone and game-changer for the dairy sector in Nigeria. He commended the management of Arla Foods for having faith and confidence in Nigeria and the Kaduna.

Mr El-Rufai urged the incoming governor of the state, Sani Uba, to continue to support Arla and other companies with investments in the state for economic prosperity.