FG, WAMCO Renew
MOU On Dairy Development Programme
Federal Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and one of the country’s leading
dairy companies, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, makers of Peak, Three Crowns and Friso
brands of milk have renewed their memorandum of understanding (MoU) on dairy
development in the country.
The Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief AuduOgbeh, and the Managing Director,
FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Mr. Rahul Colaco, signed the MOU at a ceremony held in
Abuja, recently.
WAMCO is the first dairy
company in Nigeria to sign such a pact with the Federal Government. The
Minister and his team had visited the Netherlands earlier in the year, to see
how the Dutch dairy chain is organized from “grass to glass” and how
FrieslandCampina guarantees the safety and quality of her products.
A statement issued by the
company’s Corporate Affairs Director, Ore Famurewa, explained: “This is an
enormously positive development for FrieslandCampina WAMCO and we see our partnership
with the Federal Government as key in rolling out new dairy programmes designed
to safeguard food and nutrient security in Nigeria.
“Five years ago in 2011,
we signed an MoU with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD)
to improve dairy farming and we made good progress in areas such as networking
of milk suppliers, training of dairy farmers and improving the quality of raw
milk. “Today, we are restating our mutual commitment to developing the Nigerian
local dairy industry by creating a sustainable value chain that contributes to
food security, provides jobs and prosperity,” she said.
Famurewa confirmed the
company’s decision to invest N3 billion in its small holder dairy farmer
programme in Nigeria and has also agreed to provide support to a FMARD
subsidiary, Milcopal, in Kaduna.
The Dairy Development
Programme (DDP) is an initiative of WAMCO Nigeria PLC. It is a private-public
partnership that will trigger growth in the agro-economic sector of Nigeria.
The DDP is
significant in the history of FrieslandCampina WAMCO “and we believe it
will enhance dairy farming in Nigeria as it affirms our unwavering commitment
to the provision of quality dairy nutrition to Nigerians,” Famurewa said.
The signing ceremony was
attended by the Minister for Agriculture & Rural Development, Chief
AuduOgbeh; the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development, Dr. Shehu Ahmed; Hon. Mohammed Monguno, Chairman, House Committee
on Agriculture Production and Services, National Assembly; Dr. Danazumi
Mohammed Ibrahim, Director General National Office for Technology
Acquisition and Promotion; Chairman, Board of Directors, WAMCO, Mr. Jacobs
MoyoAjekigbe and the Managing Director, WAMCO, Mr. RahulColaco.
This story was published in Independent on Sep 4, 2016
http://independentnig.com/poor-funding-hinders-malaria-research-nimr/
