A Qatari-based dairy industry, Baladna, is set to establish a multi-million dollar food factory in Ogun State.
Baladna is an agricultural company that raises livestock and produces dairy products. It is Qatar’s largest locally-owned food and dairy producer that supplies over 95 percent of the country’s fresh dairy products.
The Head of Products and Solutions Architecture at Baladna, Mr. Aidan Thomas Iynan, disclosed this when he and other members of the company, led by the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Aisha Rimi, paid a courtesy visit to the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
He said the government of Qatar and the company invested heavily in an integrated dairy farm, which has become the biggest single dairy farm in the world.
He stated that Nigeria and Ogun State, like Algeria, would achieve remarkable results in dairy farming with the expertise, technology, and capital from the organization.
He noted that the collaboration with the Algerian government is expected to produce 1.7 billion liters of milk a year and meet 50 percent of milk supply for Algerians.
Mr. Iynan noted that with the current climate change, seven decades of drought in Syria, and flash floods in North America, the Mediterranean, and North Africa, it was imperative for Nigeria to work towards becoming self-sufficient in dairy production, as the situation is bound to put pressure on countries that depend on imports to address their food security.
“We can build farms that are highly efficient with world-class yields, and we can address not just dairy, meat, but also crop production,” he said.
