Nestlé Nigeria Plc has announced that its efforts towards increasing local sourcing of its raw materials yielded positive results. This was made known by Victoria Uwadoka, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager of Nestlé.
According to Uwadoka, Nestle now source for its raw materials locally with about 80 percent of agricultural inputs in its production.
How Nestlé is infusing local raw materials in its production
Nigerian farmers’ supply 100 per cent of the grains and legumes used in Golden Morn, the malt in MILO is made from sorghum supplied by smallholder farmers who cultivate the grain in northwestern Nigeria.
Other inputs sourced locally include Soya Beans, Cocoa Powder, Palm Olein, Maize and Millet
Over seven years ago, Nestle launched its Cereal Plan to increase local sourcing of grains, cereals and legumes for its production. The Cereal Plan was introduced to empower farmers to improve grain quality and increase productivity.
Having recognised that it won’t be sustainable to do everything in a solo way, Nestlé created projects that include the aggregators, some who have worked with Nestle for over 20 years, input suppliers, the smallholder farmers and project implementation partners who provide the training and manage the extension services.
“We believe that this model which takes a 360 degree view of the ecosystem and empowers all the stakeholders within the value chain thereby creating efficient linkages is the right way to ensure sustainable backward integration, one where each player is empowered to focus on and succeed in his area of competence.
“By creating shared value for all parties, we are not only empowering value chains, we are growing an ecosystem that works.’’ Uwadoka was quoted.
Results for the half year ending 30 June 2018 show the company recorded a revenue of N 135.3 billion, a growth of 11% over same period in the previous year – and a profit after tax of N 21.5 billion.
Nestlé is the largest food company in the world. The company owns a plethora of brands like; beverages, cereals, Chocolate, confectionery and baked goods, food service products, frozen foods, healthcare nutrition, infant foods, performance nutrition, pet food, refrigerated products, seasonings, shelf stable and yoghurt.
