Farmers in Morocco bring their milk to a collection station near Nestlé’s El Jadida factory.

Since the 1880s, when Nestlé condensed milk travelled the African continent in miner’s rucksacks and continuing today, with hundreds of products available from Cairo to Cape Town, African consumers have come to see Nestlé as part of their daily lives.

Historically, Nestlé entered many new markets with dairy products, seeking to both produce and sell locally. But this required a reliable, high quality supply of fresh milk. To achieve this, we provided assistance to farmers, such as low-interest loans to expand their herds or buy equipment and advice on good feeding and breeding practices. The result for Nestlé was a dependable, high quality supply of raw materials. For farmers and the community as a whole, the cooperation led to greater prosperity and more sophisticated dairy production. Still today, agronomists and field technicians from Nestlé Agricultural Services provide technical assistance to farmers.

Given prevailing temperatures and logistical considerations in many areas, milk preservation plays an important role in improving access to protein, calcium and other important nutrients contained in milk. It is thus hardly surprising that Nestlé powdered or condensed milk brands, such as Nido or Carnation, are top Nestlé products in at least fourteen African countries.