A BLUEPRINT FOR NIGERIAN DAIRY

This impact report is published by Câm, with data and information from qualitative and quantitative insights gathered by Câm and a 2023 independent survey by 60 Decibels based on interviews with 173 pastoralists.
 
Download

Our Manifesto

We're a social impact movement that just happens to make dairy. Our goal is to create a massive income boost for 600,000 pastoralists and 8,500 youth entrepreneurs living in extreme poverty, and nourish millions of customers with essential nutrients by 2030.

We believe (1) Nigeria’s reliance on food imports has been destructive to our local economy, environment and jobs (2) our children have the right to safe, nutritious and affordable foods that are vital for their development (3) smallholder-driven agriculture, especially in the dairy value chain, has a high potential to drive job creation, improve diet quality and end poverty for good (4) to be sustainable, we must be profitable
(5) a pastoralist-powered dairy industry is the fastest and most sustainable way to address these challenges (6) success depends on building trust and respect with marginalised communities who are living in extreme poverty (7) Nigeria has enough cows to meet our population’s nutritional needs if we apply Câm’s theory of change (8) our pastoralist impact will compound with consistent and sustained effort (9) the dairy industry is a vehicle that can shape the future of Nigeria (10) to achieve that goal, we must share our blueprint with others.

The Nutritional Opportunity

Inadequate nutrition is a huge challenge in Nigeria, with 32% of children under 5 “stunted” and 20% underweight due to not getting the right nutrients. This results in irreversible developmental problems which limits professional opportunities later in life and keeps them in a cycle of poverty. A tall glass of milk is a nutritional powerhouse and is more hydrating than water. Increasing dairy production can help to provide our growing population with affordable nutrition.

The Economic Opportunity

Nigeria’s population is expected to double by 2050, reaching 400 million people. More than half of our population will be under 25 years old. In this same timeframe, we anticipate the milk industry could reach $49.8 billion. Meanwhile, our nation currently spends $1.5bn on dairy imports. By breaking our reliance on overseas dairy and investing in our own economy, we’re creating a new industry that benefits the people of Nigeria.

The Employment Opportunity

Our first milestone is to create 10,000 job opportunities for rural Nigerian youth. Our entrepreneurial model has the potential to scale quickly and help thousands of young people living in pastoralist communities to benefit from the modern economy without losing their way of life. We provide the training and financial support to help Câm Rangers get started in their new role along and progress to managing their own team or running a milk aggregation centre.

SUSTAINABLE FOUNDATIONS

We’ve been interested in sustainability from day one. The good thing about building an industry from scratch is that we can choose the foundations. We want the dairy industry in Nigeria to be an example for others around the world.A huge challenge from the beginning was designing and manufacturing sustainable packaging. Some of our early products came in single-use plastic. This is unfortunately a common issue in the food and drinks industry.It’s the default option because it’s hygienic, durable and cheap to produce. But most plastic isn’t biodegradable. That means it hangs around in the environment for hundreds of years, either in landfill or polluting our oceans and urban drainage systems, particularly in cities such as Lagos.
In fact, indiscriminate use of plastic has turned Nigeria into a hotbed of plastic pollution. A 2019 report by the Voice of America places the amount of plastic waste generated in Nigeria per year at 2.5 million tonnes. And another report by the Word Economic Forum estimates that 200,000 tonnes of Nigeria's plastic waste ends up in our oceans. We're building a sustainable supply chain that's not dependant on plastic. We've already switched all of our product packaging to 100% glass jars and bottles. When they’re empty, you can either send them back to us for recycling or upcycle them for pens, potting herbs, storing utensils, holding flowers and other creative uses.

FOLLOW US

@camdairies
To top