November 5, 2025
The Federal Government has resolved to activate it dairy policy to facilitate the boosting of the country’s current 700 milion litres annual milk production to the required 1.6 billion litres.
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, announced this on Wednesday at the ongoing workshop on the “Final Review and Validation of Framework for the Implementation of the National Dairy Policy” in Abuja.
Maiha maintained that if properly harnessed, the country had sufficient livestock resources to meet domestic milk demand.
He said the nation’s dependence on imported dairy products is inconsistent with President Tinubu’s vision of economic diversification and self-reliance.
Maiha stated that insensitives have been put in place to stimulate local production by farmers and investors, including soft loans, tariff protection, and the creation of dairy development hubs in key production zones.
“There is therefore the need for urgent and coordinated efforts to transform Nigeria’s dairy industry and end the country’s 1.5 billion dollars annual dairy import bill,” he said.
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In the same vein, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Sen. John Enoh assured of the industry’s commitment to the National Dairy Policy to facilitate industrial growth, job creation, and food security.
Represented by his Senior Special Adviser on Policy and Governance, Dr Adedeji Adeshile, he said Nigeria’s dairy sector, with over 20 million cattle, produces only about 700 million litres of milk annually.
According to Enoh, the figure was way less than half of the national demand estimated at 1.6 billion litres.
Describing the supply gap as both a challenge and an opportunity, he identified the framework being validated as a crucial step in ”operationalising” the National Dairy Policy.
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“It aligns with government and private sector efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in milk production,” he said.
Similarly, Special Adviser and Coordinator, National Presidential Livestock Reforms InitiatiMves, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said the framework was anchored on 11 strategic pillars of livestock development and aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Prof. Jega, who was represented by the Director, Dairy Research and Development Centre, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Prof. Demo Kalla, said that the framework underscored the administration’s commitment to reposition the livestock and dairy sectors, adding that the sectors is a key drivers of food security, job creation, and sustainable economic growth.
