SHUANGCHENG, China,
June 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Nestlé (Euronext: NESTS) today held the groundbreaking
ceremony for the Dairy Farming Institute, which will support the
sustainable development and the accelerated modernization of the
dairy industry in China. The
groundbreaking follows an announcement Nestlé made in January, in
which the company committed to transform Shuangcheng, one of its
largest fresh milk supply bases in China, into the country's benchmark for dairy
farming and management best practices.
The January 11th Memorandum of
Understanding between Shuangcheng Municipal Government and Nestlé
engages the parties to jointly develop modern dairy farming
practices. Under the agreement, a total of RMB 2.5 billion will be invested between all
parties in the milk district over the next five years through a
partnership between Nestlé, the local government, investors and
farmers.
Training open to the whole dairy farming industry
The Dairy Farming Institute occupies 600,000 square meters and
is supported by three different types of training farms, including
one cow base with 1,520 cows, which provides practical guidance for
farmers working alone or on small farms to relocate to a
professionally managed farm; one large farm with 1,200 cows and one
mega farm with 8,000 cows to help those who own larger farms scale
up their facilities and use more modern practices.
The professional training will benefit the whole industry and
eventually be open to all dairy industry members.
Cooperate with first-rate partners
The Dairy Farming Institute is a platform for dairy business
partners that will bring together experts in feed, genetics and
other fields from around the world. It will offer dairy
practitioners world-class training on dairy cow feeding and
management.
Confirming long-term commitment to China
"In line with the government's 12th five-year plan for animal
husbandry, the Dairy Farming Institute groundbreaking is a very
important step for Nestlé to promote the modernization of the dairy
industry in Shuangcheng and beyond. It also underscores
Nestlé's commitment to growing our dairy business in China in a long-term and sustainable way,"
said Mr. Heiko Schipper, Managing
Director of Nestlé Food & Beverage Division, GCR.
Nestlé has been investing in Shuangcheng to develop its milk
district since 1987, three years before the Nestlé Shuangcheng
dairy factory became operational. Since then, Nestlé has
promoted scale and modern dairy farming through free training and
technical assistance.