Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has stated that the Ikun Dairy Farm in Ikun- Ekiti, when fully operational, would serve as a prototype for National Livestock Transformation Plan in addressing farmer-herder crisis in the country.
Fayemi stated this at the Ikun Dairy Farm during an inspection of the newly arrived 227 cows from United States of America and the expansive farm for the cultivation of hays for the cows.
The integrated farm, which is designed to commence production of 10,000 litres of milk daily, is a joint project by the Ekiti State Government and Promasidor Diary Company.
The governor, who revealed that the new cows, which were pregnant would be confined to their sheds in the farm, said about 500 hectares of land have been acquired to grow fields that would be used to take care of the animals to prevent them from roaming about.
He said appropriate measures have been put in place to connect water directly from Ero Dam to achieve a seamless water supply and irrigation process on the farm.
The capacity of the dairy farm, which is being put to use for the first time in 40 years, according to Fayemi, has been expanded to run a 24- hour operation in raising cattle and production of milk.
He said the dairy farm would also demonstrate Nigeria’s capacity as milk producing country rather than being a milk importing country.
The governor, who also visited other sections of the dairy in company with the General Manager, of the farm, Mr. Hermann Kibler and the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Prince Olabode Adetoyi, expressed confidence in the Private-Public Partnership (PPP) arrangement between the state government and Promasidor to guarantee the sustainability and economic viability of the farm.
“This dairy farm has been here for the last 40 years, and it has not been put to use. This is the first time that it is going to be put into proper use.
“Agriculture has we have always said in the state is the pathway to progress, particularly for us as an agrarian society,” he said.
The General Manager of Ikun Dairy Farm, Kibler, on his own, said the stage was set for the commencement of full scale production, adding however that the farm was still expecting a few hundreds of cows which he said would be delivered in the next couple of months.
