Multi-million dollar food company set to berth in Ogun

A Qatari-based dairy industry, Baladna, is set to establish a multi-million dollar food factory in Ogun State.

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 added the purpose of the visit was to explore possibilities in the country regarding land acquisition and also to hold talks with the government of Ogun State on collaboration in order to develop plans and feasibility studies to push the plan through.

In his response, Governor Abiodun observed that Nigeria’s demand for milk has jumped to 1.6 billion liters per year, with about 50-70 percent coming from imports.

“A lot of people have been running around pretending to set up dairy farms. They applied for import substitute permits, but what we have seen today is that all they do is bring in powdered milk because powdered milk has been very profitable, and that is very unfortunate. NaI think that you represent the kind of company that we would like to work with, and we are confident that you will work with Nigeria to achieve the Renewed Hope Initiative in agriculture. If within one month you were able to achieve 35 percent of milk supply in Qatar and within six months you became self-sufficient, I have no doubt that you can achieve that here in Nigeria. Your operations here will be like a walk in the park since we do not have deserts here,” the governor stated.

The governor highlighted the multiplying effects of having the company established in the state, noting that apart from job creation and individual prosperity, it would also lead to an increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the nation.

While calling on the company to consider establishing itself in the state, Prince Abiodun noted that the company’s vision aligned with that of the state, assuring of seamless cooperation devoid of official bottlenecks.