USADF Signs TWO gRANTS TO sUPPORT Rural Milk Producers in Nigeria:

WASHINGTON - April 12, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 12, 2010 – The United States African Development Foundation has signed two grants in Washington, D.C. to support milk producers in Nigeria. The grants will benefit Kaban Milk Producers Cooperative Society (KMPCS) and Maje Milk Producers Cooperative Society (MMPCS).

Upon reviewing the grant, USADF Chairman Jack Leslie stated, “Funding community organizations and marginalized populations is at the core of what USADF does.  These grants are designed to work with rural milk producers to increase milk production and improve their quality of life.”

KMPCS is a 115 member cooperative while MMPCS is an 85 member cooperative.  Both are located in Kaduna State and their members are nomadic herders who identify themselves as Fulani.  All members of KMPCS and MMPCS are involved in the production of milk. 

Until the 1990s, Nigerian government-led initiatives to improve the dairy industry excluded small-scale nomadic farmers.  In the 1990s, the Kaduna Federation of Milk Producers Associations Limited (MILCOPAL) was founded to buy milk directly from cooperative societies.  Both KMPCS and MMPCS regularly sell milk to MILCOPAL but the volume and quality of milk sold to MILCOPAL has been traditionally low.  Constraints to increased milk production include sub-standard breeds of dairy cattle, insufficient feed for dairy cattle, unhygienic methods of collecting and storing milk, and inadequate organizational and business skills of the cooperatives officers. 

Both cooperatives will receive a two year grant which will fund milk production equipment, animal feed, artificial insemination equipment, and healthcare services to improve the capacity of cattle to produce milk, and training.

USADF started programming in Nigeria in 2001. Nigeria's current portfolio stands at thirty-one investment projects totaling more than $5 million.  For more information about the portfolio, please visit the country’s quick source page at http://www.adf.gov/USADF-QuickSourceCountryPortfolioPage-Nigeria.htm .

The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is a United States Government agency dedicated to expanding access to economic opportunities to the most marginalized populations in Africa. Currently USADF operates in 20 African countries. Over the past 25 years, USADF has funded in excess of $200 million in African initiated and led development projects.  For more information on USADF, its programs and application guidelines, visit www.usadf.gov .

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