6 June 2012

2 minute read

Asia

The company announced in January that the institute in Heilongjiang province aims to be China’s leading dairy training centre, offering teaching courses from national and international experts.

The first construction phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.

The institute will be supported by three training farms providing practical guidance to help farmers scale up their facilities and improve their management skills.

Farmers will be encouraged to use the latest agricultural technology and source high quality milk sustainably.

Nestlé, the local government, investors and farmers will work together to help create an investment fund of 2.5 billion Chinese Yuan Renminbi (over CHF 370 million) for the five year project.

“The emphasis will be on training farmers so that they are prepared to modernise their farms and deliver high quality milk in an efficient and responsible way,” said Heiko Schipper, Managing Director for the Food and Beverage Division at Nestlé China.

“Increasing the skills of farmers is our first priority,” he added.

Nestlé has agreed to work with the Shuangcheng government to build on the training and technical assistance already provided to local farmers.

Initially, the institute aims to educate about 700 farmers a year to help them improve milk quality and raise healthier cows.

Nestlé built a dairy factory in Shuangcheng in 1987.

Since then the company has continued to boost the dairy industry in the region. Last year it provided training and technical assistance to more than 7,000 farmers.

The average dairy farm size has nearly doubled.

“Nestlé has had a long partnership with China,” continued Mr Schipper. “From the start, our company has worked diligently to develop the local dairy industry."

“We look forward to continue sharing our experiences, resources, technology and facilities.”

TheCattleSite News Desk