The Abia State is set to attract an ultra-modern dairy farm and milk processing plants, the first of such projects in the Southeast zone.
Already a proposal for the establishment of the project has been tabled before Governor Alex Otti for his approval. The proposed dairy farm is being promoted by Blue Ribbon Limited, with technical support and partnership of an Israeli agro-processing firm, Afimilk.
The management of Blue Ribbon had a preliminary meeting over it with Governor Otti where they stated details on the establishment of the dairy farm and presented the proposal for Abia to host the project. A statement from the office of the governor said that Mr. Otti gave his tacit approval, when he received the management of Blue Ribbon led by Sir Idris Wabara, pending when the details of the project would be worked out. While explaining the proposal for the dairy farm, Wabara, who hails from Ohambele in Ukwa East Local Government of Abia, said that the technical partner, Afimilk, is an Israeli firm renowned for its expertise in agriculture.
He outlined the significance of the project in strengthening the economic landscape of Abia State and its potential impact on the lives of its citizens by enhancing the state’s agricultural productivity. Wabara said that by producing milk and other dairy products for local consumption and possibly for export, the company would help to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported dairy products. “What we want to do is to feed the local market with milk; we want to conserve foreign currency and train our people (in milk processing),” he said.
According to him, “the Israelis are keen in 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.”