Milk aggregation and logistics as a path to strengthen Nigeria’s dairy sector

Dairy, USDA

The Dairy Ranchers Association of Nigeria (CODARAN) is the national apex body and collective voice for championing the interest of indigenous commercial dairy processors, ranch operators, and small-, medium-, and large-scale dairy farmers. At the head of this organization is Dianabasi Akpainyang, its Executive Director and a Cochran fellow from the 2022 cohort. As part of his training on U.S. beef and dairy management hosted by U.S. Livestock Genetics Export, Inc., in Madison, WI, Akpainyang developed an action plan to increase milk production and revenue generation in Nigeria. According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the demand for milk production in 2024 was 1.7 billion liters (3.86 billion pounds), yet only 600 million liters (1.36 billion pounds) are produced nationally.

CODARAN’s plan is to implement the Milk Aggregation and Logistics Development Project (MALDEP) in 2025 with the training of 1,000 smallholder farmers in Niger and Jigawa States on profitable dairy business management. This training has already begun, and 2 milk collection centers equipped with milk storage and testing equipment have been established to aggregate milk from smallholder dairy farmers in Niger and Jigawa States. Along with supply of free milk collection equipment – milk cans to 200 smallholder dairy farmers in Niger and Jigawa States – to facilitate hygienic milk handling and reduce milk rejection rates at the milk collection center, this plan seeks to help significantly reduce the country’s dependence on US$ 1.5 billion in milk imports and channel those funds into the development of the dairy industry in Nigeria.