KNUST to begin large scale fresh milk production

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is to begin large-scale production of nutritious fresh milk to generate more revenue for its activities.

Professor William Otoo Ellis, the Vice Chancellor, said it had targeted to produce about 1,500 litres of fresh yoghurt daily for the local market by the middle of the year.

It had already secured partnership deal with the Peak Investment Capital Limited (PIC) for this, he added.

Speaking at the inauguration of a seven-member Board of Directors of the University’s Diary Company Limited in Kumasi, Prof Ellis said it had taken steps to strengthen its Dairy and Beef Cattle Research Centre – to develop new technologies in the dairy production line and come out with products that met international standards in terms of taste, packaging, quality and durability.

Dairy products of the centre is currently limited to students on the university campus and people within its environs.

The Vice Chancellor said given the needed push, there could be no doubt that it could make significant penetration into the international market.

Fresh yoghurt produced by the centre has been acknowledged for its quality and now with its collaboration with PIC it could become a major player on both the local and international markets.

Mr. Kobbina Awuah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PIC, said the Company was constructing two “flagship stores” on the university campus to serve as major sales point to distribute dairy products in the Ashanti Region.

Work on these, he said, would be completed in March, this year.

Mr. Awuah said the decision to partner the KNUST to boost milk production was influenced by the fact that it already had the technical expertise and the necessary structures.

The inauguration of the Board comes on the heels of a joint-venture agreement signed between the two. The Board is expected to announce its Chairman soon.