As World Food Day (WFD) is being celebrated across the globe, Outspan Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of ofi (olam food ingredients) has reiterated its commitment to the Federal Government’s food value chain and economic development agenda.

According to a statement released recently by the dairy business, a strong pivot to a deeper value chain development effort is key to scaling local production of food.

World Food Day is celebrated on October 16th. The theme for this year’s commemorative event is “Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow”. The event provides ample opportunities for businesses and governments to reaffirm their commitment to, and promote actions targeted at, ending hunger in the world.

Outspan Nigeria has been implementing various BIP (Backward Integration Program) initiatives in the dairy sector. Its initiative, tagged ‘Milk Mission’, combines a robust public-private partnership (PPP) strategy and unyielding focus on the Federal Government’s sectored development agenda to reposition the dairy sector.

Speaking on Outspan Nigeria’s value chain development efforts, in commemoration of World Food Day 2022, Praveen Paulsamy, the Vice President of ofi Dairy in Nigeria, said “We are firmly focused on driving the actualization of the Federal Government’s food value chain and economic development agenda in the dairy sector. This valuable growth focus is critical to raising the food security level and stimulating economic growth in the country.”

“Therefore, our current value chain development initiatives, especially the ‘Milk Mission’, encapsulate our absolute commitment to raising the productivity level in the dairy sector while engendering a performance scale that would push the sector towards fulfilling its economic contributory potential. All our BIP initiatives address the niggling issues such as low productivity level, poor cattle health, the dearth of wider cold chain services, inefficient logistics systems, and low exposure to modern agronomic practices which are stifling growth in the dairy sector”, he added.

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Paulsamy stated further that Outspan Nigeria is partnering with the Kano Dairy and Livestock Husbandry Cooperative Union (KADALCU) to execute its value chain development efforts. Through that partnership collaboration effort, the business has been able to locate four Milk Collection Centres (MCCs) close to the smallholder dairy farmers in Kano state. The centres are equipped with adequate cooling systems that are powered by off-grid equipment. It has also provided transportation and cooling systems to ensure the quality of the raw milk produced in the region is preserved and optimized for industrial use.

On the importance of milk and dairy products to efforts at allaying the threat of hunger and food insecurity, Paulsamy said: “Milk and dairy products are high in macronutrients like carbohydrates, fats and proteins, as well as vital micronutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin B12, calcium and magnesium.”