To mark the 2025 World Milk Day, celebrated globally under the theme “Let’s Celebrate the Power of Dairy”, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria PLC—producers of Peak, Three Crowns, Nunu, Coast, and Olympic milk brands—has unveiled ambitious plans to establish a Dairy Academy in partnership with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Livestock Development.

The announcement was made during a high-level conference held in Abuja, attended by government officials, dairy stakeholders, and agricultural institutions. The Dairy Academy will be situated at Maya Farm in Oyo State, on a 20-hectare land parcel owned by FrieslandCampina WAMCO. This groundbreaking initiative is set to become a training and innovation hub for dairy professionals across Nigeria.

A New Era for Nigeria’s Dairy Industry

According to the company’s Managing Director, Roger Adou, the Academy is designed to bridge knowledge gaps and introduce climate-smart practices into Nigeria’s dairy value chain. It will offer a blend of structured and flexible learning, including intensive Artificial Insemination (AI) training, milk hygiene, animal health management, and sustainable farming practices.

To support immersive learning, the facility will feature:

• A 200-seat training hall
• Fully equipped laboratory
• Modern cow sheds and hay barns
• Silage storage systems
• Essential dairy machinery such as tractors, boom sprayers, harvesters, and manure spreaders

Scaling Dairy Development Across Nigeria

This initiative builds on FrieslandCampina WAMCO’s Dairy Development Programme (DDP), which began in 2010. Over the past 14 years, the program has expanded to seven states—Oyo, Ogun, Kwara, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). It currently supports a network of more than 15,000 local dairy farmers, many of whom are women and young people.

Key achievements of the DDP include:

• Over 40,000 litres of milk collected daily at peak through 30 strategically located milk collection centers
• More than 10,000 cattle vaccinated through collaborations with state agricultural authorities
• 900+ crossbreed calves birthed through AI-driven breed improvement
• Investment in cold chain reliability and pasture development

Innovation Through Partnership

A standout success of FrieslandCampina WAMCO is the Value4Dairy Consortium, launched in 2021. As Nigeria’s first multi-stakeholder dairy business model, the consortium has created dedicated dairy zones in Oyo, Osun, and Abuja. To date, over 1,350 artificial inseminations have been performed, boasting a 65% success rate.

The consortium has also:

• Trained 3,300+ farmers on Good Dairy Farming Practices
• Established three more milk collection centers
• Installed 15 solar-powered milk coolers and 23 boreholes
• Allocated 5-hectare pasture plots to over 10 smallholder dairy farmers at the Fashola Dairy Hub

Transforming Livelihoods Through Learning

FrieslandCampina WAMCO’s Executive Director of Corporate Affairs, Ore Famurewa, emphasized that the proposed Dairy Academy will play a critical role in building the technical and business acumen of dairy entrepreneurs. She highlighted the company’s long-term commitment to making Nigeria a centre of dairy excellence.

Speaking at the conference, the Honorable Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, praised the collaboration and underscored the academy’s potential to transform rural livelihoods, improve milk quality, and generate employment opportunities across the sector.

A Vision for Sustainable Food Security

Roger Adou concluded by reiterating FrieslandCampina WAMCO’s dedication to strengthening local sourcing, expanding infrastructure, and increasing access to high-quality, affordable milk for Nigerian households.