FrieslandCampina WAMCO has asserted that its product line includes only Nigerian-made goods and that Nigeria’s dairy sector is worth investing in.
The managing director of WAMCO, Mr. Ben Langat, revealed this in an interview and added that FrieslandCampina WAMCO is Nigeria’s leading dairy company and that its flagship product, Peak Milk, is Nigeria’s leading milk brand.
According to Langat, “Nearly every Nigerian I have interacted with has consumed Peak Milk at some point in their lives.”
He noted that FrieslandCampina WAMCO has continued to invest in the Nigerian dairy industry over the past 12 years as a result of its local source of raw milk for manufacture.
“You have to put in extra effort to grow high milk-yielding cows, and this is what we have been doing for many years,” he said.
“FrieslandCampina WAMCO has maintained its investment in the Nigerian dairy industry for more than 12 years as a result of its local supply of raw milk for manufacture. The majority of the fresh milk produced locally in five states of Nigeria is also consumed by us.
“We can state that we have brands in our portfolio that are 100% Nigerian because the yogurt factories run on local milk.”
However, he added that the local milk currently on hand is still woefully insufficient to be able to supply the whole dairy nutrition requirement in a country as vast as Nigeria. Therefore, he added that the model that the country will follow will still include a fair amount of imports of some of the raw materials, while local content is gradually growing.
According to Langat, the company’s sustainability strategy in Nigeria is now being implemented in the states of Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Kwara, and the north. “We are collaborating with roughly 12,000 farmers in these areas. The majority of them are pastoralists with roaming cows.”
He claimed that they intend to provide these farmers seedlings from their farm in Fashola, where we create pastures in partnership with Barenbrug, one of the top producers of hybrid pasture seed in the world when they deliver milk during the rainy season.
“Additionally, we assist them in pasture development and demonstrate to them sustainable methods of using the pasture for cattle grazing that do not promote soil erosion or any other type of deforestation,” he said.
