Opportunities for improving dairy production in Nigeria
Most milk in central Nigeria is produced by cattle in low input, low yielding systems. Dairy productivity can be increased by using higher yielding breeds & feeding better quality diets.
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This factsheet uses production systems from Kaduna Province as an example of how milk yields and income from dairy production can be improved in central Nigeria.
Current production systems
Most milk is produced for home consumption by indigenous cattle kept by pastoralists. Cattle are kept in large herds and graze on natural guinea savanna pasture managed in a traditional pastoral system by Fulani people. Crossbred dairy cattle are not common. Excess milk is sold at local markets.
Issues limiting milk production
Animal genetics
Local cattle breeds have low milk yields
Low quality feed
Cattle graze native perennial pastures without supplementation
High animal mortality & low reproduction rates
Largely caused by disease & poor nutrition
Modelled baseline household
- 62 Bunaji cattle (local breed)
- Cows graze guinea savanna pasture
- Calves weaned at 4 months and cows milked for up to 9 months
Modelled interventions to increase production
Improved pasture
Productivity and quality of pastures is improved through application of fertiliser and species composition. Herd size is increased to 107 head (local cattle).
Improved pasture + genetics
Local cattle replaced with Friesian-Bunaji crossbred dairy cattle (larger and higher yielding than local cattle). Higher pasture yields and quality can support 83 head.
Improved pasture + genetics + supplementation with concentrate
Local cattle replaced with Friesian-Bunaji crossbred dairy cattle. Cows supplemented 3 kg concentrate/cow.day. With additional supplementation, the improved pastures can support 94 head.
Interventions can increase production
Modelled impacts of interventions to dairy production systems in Kaduna Province, central-north Nigeria.
| Herd size (head) | Number of births per year | Number animals sold per year | Adult mortality (%) | Inter-calving interval (m) | Milk yield (kg/cow.year) | |
| Baseline | 62 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 411 |
| Improved pasture | 107 | 42 | 32 | 6 | 12 | 1216 |
| Improved genetics + improved pasture | 83 | 31 | 22 | 10 | 17 | 1504 |
| Improved genetics + improved pasture + supplementation with concentrate | 94 | 56 | 45 | 7 | 12 | 2430 |
Modelling of interventions shows the greatest increases in production come from combining multiple interventions.
Key messages
Improved breeds such as Friesian cattle have higher genetic potential but are bigger and have higher nutrition and health care requirements compared to local cattle.
Combined interventions are more successful than single interventions.
The highest milk yields are achieved when higher yielding cattle breeds are fed high quality diets, particularly concentrate feeds.
Download the Improving dairy production in central Nigeria factsheet here.