A Nigerian dairy researcher has found that per capita consumption of dairy products is the single strongest factor differentiating Africa’s dairy regions, shifting the policy conversation away from production metrics and toward demand-side investment.
Olusegun Tunmise Oloruntobi presented the findings at the 2nd International Dairy Federation Africa Regional Dairy Conference, according to a statement released Monday by the African Union’s Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources, or AU-IBAR.
Drawing on standardized data from the International Farm Comparison Network, or IFCN, the study compared dairy systems across North, West, East and Southern Africa using 15 parameters, including herd size, milk yield, self-sufficiency, trade volumes and farm numbers. Per capita consumption emerged as the variable with the greatest explanatory power across all four regions.
North Africa offers the clearest illustration of the finding. Algeria, Egypt and Morocco record the continent’s highest per capita dairy consumption, supported by price controls, strategic imports and subsidies that keep dairy products accessible to consumers.
The combination of deliberate government policy and sustained consumer demand has produced measurably stronger dairy sectors than in regions where production infrastructure exists without equivalent demand activation.
Across West, East and much of Central Africa, large cattle populations coexist with low per capita consumption.
The IFCN data points to purchasing power constraints, weak cold-chain infrastructure and inadequate market linkages as contributing factors.
Low demand discourages private investment, limits productivity and delays the development of inclusive dairy value chains.
Oloruntobi’s study concludes that increasing consumption of livestock-sourced foods, particularly milk and dairy products, must become a deliberate policy priority.
Livestock-sourced foods supply high-quality protein, essential fats and micronutrients that are difficult to obtain from staple crops at equivalent intake levels.
For children, adolescents, pregnant women and lactating mothers, regular access to safe and affordable dairy products produces measurable gains in growth and cognitive development, the study found.
The research calls for governments and development partners to invest in public nutrition awareness, expand school milk programs and extend social protection schemes to include dairy.
It also advocates price stabilization mechanisms, support for small- and medium-scale processors, and investment in shelf-stable and fortified dairy products suited to areas with limited cold storage.
