TheCable

Fan Milk, a Danone company, says it has inaugurated its newly-completed model dairy farm in Odeda, Ogun State.

In a statement, the consumer goods company said the dairy farm, which is Danone’s first investment in dairy farming in sub-Saharan Africa, was recently commissioned by Dapo Biodun, governor of Ogun and Emmanuelle Blatmann, French ambassador to Nigeria.

Danone is an American-French multinational food-products corporation based in Paris.

Abiodun lauded the multimillion-dollar investment, saying it was strategically aligned with the present administration’s drive to foster relationships that enhance internally generated revenue.

“The growth of this project in about a year since the MOU was signed is symbolic of our administration’s commitment to public-private partnerships,” he said.

“We are happy to be part of this success story. I want to assure all stakeholders that our administration will follow up and sustain its commitment to this project by continued support through the Ministry of Agriculture and all other relevant agencies in order to make good of Fan Milk-Danone’s investment.”

Ferdinand Mouko, managing director, Fan Milk, reiterated the company’s commitment in the production of ice cream and frozen yoghurt using milk sourced locally from cattle on the farm, as well as those aggregated from local farmers at the milk collection centre. 

He also said the project would empower 100 farmers in the first year and empower 500 farmers in the next five years.

He added that the dairy farm would scale the number of pastoral farmers that currently benefit from Fan Milk Danone’s investment in the state. 

Blatmann, on the other hand, commended the company’s investment in the country and reiterated the company’s role in opening up more avenues for bilateral relations between France and Nigeria.  

Olayinka Akinkugbe, chairman of Fan Milk, appreciated the support from the Ogun government. 

He added that the state was an investor-friendly state that supported Fan Milk’s response to CBN’s dairy backward integration programme. He said the partnership was one of the major investments of Danone due to its social impact on the host community.