Nestlé Nigeria: Solving the Puzzle with the Touch of Milk
By Azeez Disu
The global demand for milk is steadily climbing, driven by population expansion and an increasing recognition of its indispensable health advantages. As nations worldwide strive to ensure food security and enhance nutritional outcomes for their citizens, milk remains a cornerstone of human sustenance. This nutritious beverage supplies essential elements such as calcium, protein, vitamin D, phosphorus, and potassium, all vital for robust growth and metabolic support across all age groups. While children depend on it for proper development, adults benefit from its contribution to superior bone density and a diminished risk of osteoporosis, alongside improved cardiovascular health and enhanced immune function.
In this vital global context, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, presents a complex dairy challenge—a nutritional and economic puzzle requiring sustained, strategic intervention. Nigeria is currently making steady progress towards meeting its local demand. In 2022, the nation produced approximately 1.2 million tonnes of milk, sourced primarily from dairy cattle, goats, and camels. By 2023, this figure saw a marginal increase to about 1.3 million tonnes. This growth, although positive, is supported by government initiatives to bolster local dairy farming. Looking ahead, projections suggest continued but gradual growth, reaching an expected 1.4 million tonnes in 2024 and 1.5 million tonnes by 2025, reflecting Nigeria’s ongoing commitment to developing its dairy industry through improved infrastructure and investment.
However, when this local output is viewed against the backdrop of global figures, the scale of the challenge becomes apparent. In 2022, global milk production stood at an astounding 890 million tonnes, with estimates suggesting an increase to 915 million tonnes in 2023, particularly buoyed by rising demand in rapidly developing markets such as Asia and Africa. Forecasts indicate this upward trajectory will continue, with production expected to reach 940 million tonnes in 2024 and surpass 960 million tonnes in 2025. For Nigeria, ensuring nutritional adequacy and economic independence requires a dramatic acceleration in local production capacity to bridge the gap between burgeoning demand and domestic supply.
The Audacity of Investment
This is where Nestlé Nigeria steps in, providing the decisive ‘Touch of Milk’ needed to solve the nation’s dairy puzzle. Recognizing the immense potential within the Nigerian agricultural landscape, Nestlé has committed significant capital towards revolutionizing the local dairy industry. This dedication is encapsulated in a substantial £1.8 billion investment, designed specifically to foster transformation across the sector.
Central to Nestlé’s ambitious strategy is a clear, quantifiable target: the company aims to achieve a daily milk production of 30,000 litres by 2027. This objective moves beyond mere commercial ambition; it represents a comprehensive commitment to developing the entire dairy value chain, fostering sustainability, and improving the livelihoods of thousands of producers.
The commitment is not new; it builds upon years of groundwork laid by the Nestlé Dairy Development Project (NLDP), which was launched in 2019. The NLDP has served as the foundational blueprint for capacity building and aggregation, already achieving significant milestones that illustrate the viability of Nigeria’s local dairy sector. Since its inception, the NLDP has facilitated the establishment of 83 dairy cooperatives, directly engaging and benefiting over 3,000 milk producers.
The project has proven highly effective in aggregating local resources, successfully gathering more than 1 million litres of raw milk. Crucially, the NLDP recognized that production volume must be matched by technical expertise. To this end, Nestlé has trained over 2,000 milk producers in best practices. Furthermore, recognizing the foundational importance of animal health, the programme ensured the vaccination of over 36,744 cattle. Essential infrastructure has also been integrated, including the construction of 19 boreholes and 28 water troughs, facilitating vital water access for the livestock and the communities that tend them.
Data Driven Transformation
The true measure of the NLDP’s success lies in the hard data showing tangible improvements in quality control and economic empowerment. Dairy farming relies heavily on hygiene and strict management, and Nestlé’s interventions have led to a dramatic reduction in product rejection rates. Milk quality rejection rates, which stood at a challenging 12% in 2021, were successfully driven down to as low as 5% in 2024. This shift not only improves the efficiency of the supply chain but signifies a vast improvement in sanitation and processing standards at the local level.
More profoundly, the NLDP has acted as a powerful engine for economic upliftment within rural communities. The monthly revenue for milk producers involved in the project has seen a remarkable increase, rising from ₦70,000 in 2019 to ₦250,000 in 2024. This nearly fourfold increase in earnings translates directly into improved sustainable livelihoods, allowing producers to invest in their future and strengthen the regional economy.
The Strategic Partnership: Building Capability
Understanding that structural transformation requires concerted effort across the public and private sectors, Nestlé Nigeria formalized a crucial partnership with the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development. This collaboration led to the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) on World Milk Day 2025, symbolizing a shared commitment to developing the dairy sector. The agreement centers on addressing a critical bottleneck: the lack of robust, mid level technical and vocational skills essential for strengthening Nigeria’s dairy value chain, which is pivotal for enhancing food security and fostering development.
The result of this collaboration is the launch of the Dairy Technical Skills Development Program. The programme’s focus areas are clear and essential: establishing capacity building programmes centred on milk production, processing, hygiene, and management. It aims to promote industry relevant skills through training modules developed in collaboration with key stakeholders, thereby enhancing milk quality and productivity across local dairy clusters through technical support and knowledge sharing.
The physical embodiment of this partnership is the commissioning of a dedicated training facility. The Honourable Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, highlighted the strategic importance of this development, stating: “Since the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, we have taken significant steps to address the challenges facing the dairy value chain. Under the National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy, we are focusing on key pillars, including livestock value chain development and feed and fodder improvement. Our collaboration with Nestlé Nigeria will lead to the commissioning of a Dairy Training Centre in Paikon Kore, Gwagwalada, aimed at building mid level manpower and training farmers to enhance productivity through modern practices”.
This training centre emerged from the success of the Nestlé Dairy Demonstration Farm, which initially served as a practical model to illustrate how the application of best practices could dramatically enhance production. Following the farm’s success, the Honourable Minister invited Nestlé Nigeria to convert the facility into a formal training institute, a proposition Nestlé readily accepted, culminating in the formal LOI signing.
Wassim Elhusseini, Managing Director and CEO of Nestlé Nigeria PLC, articulated the company’s comprehensive approach and the gravity of the LOI. He emphasized that Nestlé is leveraging both its global dairy experience and its localized capacity to deliver targeted, effective training adapted to the unique Nigerian environment. Mr Elhusseini noted: “In addition to our global dairy experience, Nestlé has built capacity to provide targeted training programmes on best practices in dairy farming adapted to the Nigerian context. This is why the Letter of Intent signifies more than a formal agreement; it reflects our mutual dedication to bridge the gap in mid level technical skills within the dairy sector to meet the growing demands of the market. We are confident that this will have a positive impact on our communities by creating more jobs, improving livelihoods, and supporting a stronger economy”.
Multiplying the Yield
Perhaps the most potent demonstration of the potential for transformation lies in the targets set for farm level productivity. The Dairy Demonstration Farm provides concrete proof that traditional methods can be dramatically improved upon through modern, informed techniques. Currently, local breeds often yield an average of only 1 litre of milk per cow per day. The strategic focus of the training programmes is to show how best practices can safely increase this daily production to over 10 litres per cow.
This tenfold increase is not just a statistical anomaly; it is the cornerstone of Nigeria’s future dairy self sufficiency. If these productivity gains can be scaled across the 3,000 milk producers already benefitting from the NLDP, and subsequently across the wider farming community trained at the Paikon Kore centre, the nation’s dairy landscape will be irrevocably altered. By committing to building capacity and capability through significant investment and strategic governmental partnership, Nestlé Nigeria is actively forging a sustainable and prosperous industry. This ongoing commitment to strengthening local sourcing, improving nutritional outputs, and fostering economic stability means Nestlé Nigeria is, quite literally, solving the national dairy puzzle, one touch of milk at a time. The cumulative impact of reducing waste, multiplying yields, and quadrupling farmer income suggests that the future of Nigerian dairy is poised for exponential growth, driven by knowledge, investment, and a dedication to best practices.