54. The huge amount of foreign exchange which Nigeria continues to spend on dairy imports yearly is an indication that dairy import control policies have been ineffective. The declining self-sufficiency ratio shows that local milk production is not increasing as fast as the demand for milk. The question now is what can the nation do at this point? Should it continue with dairy imports paying only lip service to the desire for increasing domestic milk production or should it face the problems of local milk production squarely? This is a difficult issue for a nation whose urban inhabitants are so conscious of brand names. But it is a less difficult question for a nation whose foreign exchange earnings have taken a downward plunge. And it is an easy question for a country endowed with enormous land resources. Although the options are clear, the decision is more political than economic. Were it purely economic it would be more straightforward. We have, however, outlined the major constraints to local milk production. We have shown the effects of the policy instruments on dairy imports and the effects of dairy imports on domestic milk production. The likely implications of a more drastic control of dairy imports have been discussed. What is left is a political decision and a question of will-power to solve the problem of low domestic milk production in Nigeria.
