April 20, 2026

 

Nigeria and Nestlé sign MoU to set up dairy techincal skills center

 

Nigeria has signed a memorandum of understanding with Nestlé Nigeria PLC to establish the Nestlé Dairy Technical Skills Development Centre in the FCT, aimed at improving dairy production.

 

The Nestle Dairy Technical Skills Development Centre is envisioned as a practical knowledge hub that will successfully transition Nigeria's dairy farming from traditional methods to modern, globally competitive husbandry sector.

 

The curriculum is structured to deliver 70% practical farm experience and 30% theoretical classroom teaching, adding that the 70 – 30 split would ensure that the trainees do not just learn about dairy farming in the abstract, but will get their hands and boots dirty, mastering the dairy operations of a modern dairy enterprise.

 

Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, explained that Nigeria's dairy sector has been caught in a paradox of immense potential and stark underperformance, despite the country's large livestock population.

 

This low productivity is directly linked to a systematic deficit in modern husbandry practices, inadequate feed formulation, and lack of clean portable water, as well as impact of climate change and a lack of proficiency in essential areas such as artificial insemination, herd health management and milk hygiene leading to huge post – harvest losses.

 

Maiha stated that the combined impact of all these negatives is the huge import bill of US$1.5 billion of dairy and dairy products per annum by the country.

 

The managing director of Nestle Nigeria Plc, Wassim Elhusseini, said that the MoU formalises the establishment of a Dairy Technical Skills Development Centre, which is a practical step towards strengthening the capabilities required to improve productivity, and quality of the dairy products for long-term sustainability in the sector.

 

He further said that the initiative aligns closely with the objectives of the National Dairy Policy under the National Development Plan, which seeks to catalyse growth in Nigeria's livestock and dairy sectors.

 

Elhusseini said Nestlé had invested over US$1.2 million in dairy development since 2019 through its livestock development project.

 

According to him, the investment has yielded measurable results, including aggregating over one million litres of raw milk, training more than 2,000 pastoralists, and vaccinating over 36,000 cattle.

 

- Dairy Business Middle East & Africa