The Kaduna State Government has identified year-round production of quality livestock feed as a key strategy for sustaining gains recorded in the state’s dairy sector under the five-year Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria (ALDDN) programme.
The government said lessons and interventions from the programme would be incorporated into its livestock development framework to ensure continuity after the programme’s close-out.
The Managing Director of Kaduna Ranch Development Company Ltd., Dr Ibrahim Yusuf, disclosed this on Wednesday, 16th of Septembeer at the ALDDN state-level close-out event in Zaria.
Yusuf said the company was already integrating lessons from the programme into the state’s sustainability framework, particularly in livestock feed production and dairy productivity.
He identified year-round availability of quality feed as one of the major constraints to livestock production, noting that ALDDN had introduced interventions aimed at addressing the challenge.
According to him, the state would build on the interventions through the revitalisation of grazing reserves and improved pasture development.
He disclosed that the Kaduna Ranch Development Company was currently developing 110 hectares of the 600-hectare Damau grazing reserve in Kubau Local Government Area for the production of high-quality livestock feed.
“Of the 600 hectares grazing reserve, the company has started working on 110 hectares for the production of high-quality feeds for livestock in the state,” he said.
Yusuf said the initiative formed part of the state’s sustainability framework and would involve collaboration with stakeholders, including the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) and the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI).
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Murtala Mohammed-Dabo, represented by the Director of Livestock Services, Mr Amwe Akos, said the state government would sustain key gains recorded under ALDDN by integrating successful interventions into existing and future livestock development programmes.
Akos disclosed that some of the initiatives had already been captured in the state’s proposed 2027 budget, indicating the government’s intention to continue supporting interventions that have strengthened the local dairy sector.
The Managing Partner of Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition Ltd., Mr Temi Adegoroye, said ALDDN was designed to reach 15,000 dairy households and 120,000 beneficiaries across Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Adamawa and Taraba states.
He said the five-year programme, funded by the Gates Foundation and implemented by Sahel Consulting in partnership with state governments and dairy processors, was designed to promote a vibrant and inclusive local dairy sector.
According to him, the programme focused on improving productivity, nutrition, empowerment and livelihoods among smallholder women dairy farmers through processor-led interventions tailored to participating communities.
Adegoroye said the programme also sought to create an enabling environment for local milk sourcing, increase demand for locally produced milk, improve farmers’ access to technical support and inputs, raise the incomes of women dairy farmers and strengthen nutrition among dairy households and communities.
He added that ALDDN strengthened collaboration between government and private-sector stakeholders while promoting financial inclusion among women dairy farmers through partnerships with financial institutions that provided access to financial services and alternative income opportunities.
The programme also supported dairy infrastructure through solar-powered boreholes, milk cans, collection points, parlours and milk evacuation vehicles, while working with governments and dairy companies on policy advocacy to strengthen local sourcing of raw milk.
The Managing Director of SAJ Foods Ltd., Alhaji Sanusi Abdullahi, said ALDDN had strengthened linkages among farmers, cooperatives, processors, government institutions, communities and development partners.
He said the programme had contributed to improvements in dairy productivity, market access, farmer organisation and financial inclusion, while creating greater opportunities for women in dairy-producing communities.
In his remarks, the Ardo of Zazzau, Abubakar Sadiq Umar, called for the strengthening of grazing reserves and revival of cattle routes to improve access to grazing resources and enhance milk productivity among herders.
