Otti welcomes proposal for building of dairy farm in Abia
Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
A private agricultural firm, Blue Ribbon Limited, has requested Abia State government to provide it with land to build a dairy farm in the state.
Sir Idris Wabara who led the management of the company to visit the state governor, Dr. Alex Otti, on Friday, April 5, 2024, said his firm would establish the proposed diary farm in collaboration with an Israeli company, Afimilk.
He said when the farm is built, would not only produce world class milk for local consumption and for except, but would also train Abia youths on how to produce milk.
“We know what his Excellency, the Governor, has been doing in Abia. We are asking the government to support the project to make land available for the project. And I must emphasize that this is not RUGA. This is not cattle rearing and it’s not national livestock whatever, this is a dairy farm, we bring in world class cattle, we produce world class milk.
“What we want to do is to feed the local market with milk, we can earn foreign currency and train our people. Israelis are keen on training our people in local expertise, so we intend to train people here and send some of them to Israel for training and I think it’s a win-win situation for the country.
“Government will have increased revenue, you’ll have people employed, we are attracting bigger milk processors and increased economic activity. We’ll train people through the expertise in dairy so this is essentially dairy, produce milk and associated products for the consumption of the local market and possibly for export.”
He appealed to the Abia State government to leverage the project and make land available for its establishment, assuring that the project will boost economic activities, create job opportunities and conserve foreign exchange for the state.
Receiving his guests, Governor Otti welcomed in principle, the proposal for the establishment of an ultra-modern dairy farm in the state, adding that the farm would enhance economic development.
He also said that the idea of having people move around with cows has been outlawed in some countries, including Brazil.
The Governor assured the company that his government would study the details of the proposal.
