Mburugo Dairy Farmers Co-operative Society in Manyatta Constituency, Embu, has benefited from two 5, 000-litre milk coolers worth over Sh. 19 million from the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (NARIGP).
This brings the total number of coolers to four, which, according to the management, was a significant step towards enhancing the firm’s operations.
Governor Cecily Mbarire said with enhanced capacity, the station will be able to uptake more milk from farmers, contribute to the overall growth of the cooperative, and provide better returns to farmers.
Speaking on Monday while commissioning the coolers, Governor Mbarire said the society was a success story of the critical role of cooperatives in sustaining the livelihoods of rural folks and called on others to emulate Mburugo.
The cooperative’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kennedy Njagi, said with the additional coolers, they will be able to double their daily storage capacity to 21, 000 litres from the 11, 000 they were handling previously.
He additionally said that with the increased capacity, they will also be able to mop up more milk from farmers, minimise spoilage, and ensure the quality of milk is maintained up to the time it is delivered to the market.
Njagi said they have been collecting 19, 000 litres daily from their 4, 769 members, and they are projecting to progressively raise that to 30, 000 litres and also start venturing into value addition to attract more markets and boost revenues.
He said besides milk, they are also running an animal feed production line, though on a small scale due to a lack of raw materials.
The CEO added that they also link farmers with experts to train them on best farming practices to increase yields and with financial organisations for credit facilities.
He also announced that starting this month, they will raise prices for farmers from Sh47 to Sh50 for a litre of milk delivered at the plant.
By Samuel Waititu
