This is the impact of Outspan Nigeria’s backward integration investments: an increase in productivity levels among dairy farmers in Kano State and reduced incidents of herdsmen-farmer conflict.
The farmers testified to this impact of the business’ backward integration investment in a speech to mark the 2024 World Milk Day held over the weekend in the state.
OFI, through its Outspan Nigeria Limited, began a backward integration programme in the dairy value chain in 2019. Working in concert with the Kano Dairy Cooperative Union, it has initialized investment that will likely enhance capacities of dairy farmers, improve milk collection and storage facilities around farming clusters, and scale up cattle health support. These efforts increased herd productivity while reducing the open-grazing rate, which had contributed in the past to conflicts among Fulani herdsmen and farmers.
Incomes of wives of dairy farmers, whose husbands are major milk producers, have also been improved and more of their children now able to be in school with these very efforts. In view of this fact, the 2024 World Milk Day, which aimed at celebrating the vital role of dairy in delivering quality nutrition to nourish the world’, has given an opportunity for dairy farmers and key stakeholders to thank the business for the role it had played so far in their community.
According to Dr Hassan Muhammed Imam, a Senior Lecturer at the Kano State Polytechnic and Technical Assistant to the Senior Assistant to the state governor on Cooperative Groups, conflict issues between the herdsmen and farmers have been in existence for decades,” he narrated. The coming of Outspan Nigeria into the Kano dairy value chain has made it possible for dairy farmers to be settled in one place and reduce unwarranted movements of herds, which predated and created a dispute between Fulani herdsmen and local farmers. The business intervention has ensured that herdsmen access feed for their cattle without movements into farmlands. The communities keep the peace.
According to Salisu Dahiru, a dairy farmer and Financial Secretary for Kano Dairy, “Before the coming of Outspan into Kano Dairy Cooperative we used to have so many crises in our localities. The business made available to us feed that reduced grazing. However, since around 2019 and 2020 that we began partnering with the business, the crises began to decline by about 70 to 80 percent.”. They also train us on how to raise dairy herd productivity.” Commenting on improvement in farmers’ wives’ income levels and the number of farmer’s children that now attend school, Salisu said: “In the past, our wives would leave home around 7 am to hawk milk. They won’t return home till late evening. They also weren’t making much money. Now Outspan sends vendors to pick up our milk on the farm, hence obviating the need for our women to hawk. They are also earning more from direct sales to Outspan compared with hawking in the local market. Because the women now stay home and make more money the children can attend school.
This was further appreciated with continuous support offered to it by Outspan, according to Abdullahi Usman, Chairman of Kano Dairy Cooperative Union, and Sani Umar, District Head for Dawakin Kudu LGA.
Speaking at the event, Chioma Eze, Dairy Sales Manager, B2B, Outspan Nigeria limited, said, “It is now five years since we started this journey in partnership with Kano Dairy Cooperative Union, and there are so many great things to identify with in it. That small pilot project of a dream has not only grown into this business but a very successful one at that; our judgment says it still can be much better than what we have met”.
According to Praveen Paulsamy, ofi’s vice-president in charge of the dairy business in Nigeria, “We are committed to the Federal Government’s renewed Hope Agenda. We will keep exploring opportunities that enable quality investments in the development of the local dairy value chain to drive further productivity in dairy farming communities.”
Outspan Nigeria, in partnership with Kano Dairy, hosts dairy farmers annually as activities marking World Milk Day. As was done in previous editions, the business donated school bags and exercise books among other educational materials for farmers’ children as part of activities to mark the latest edition of the global event. This took place in conjunction with a quiz competition where pupils from various selected schools in the communities participated, with Matage Primary School emerging as the overall winner.