County governments have been urged to assist in the promotion of cooperative societies in their respective areas in order to improve on the marketing of farmers’ products.
The Chairman of Tulwobmoy Dairy Co-operative Society in Rongai sub-county, Laban Cheptarus said a number of farmers were still cautious in re-joining the movement because of the past negative history which killed a number of them.
He said the past corruption in co-operative societies, which made a number of members to lose their savings was still fresh in their minds and that was the major reason many farmers were still marketing their products solo.
However, he urged the counties to carry out awareness campaigns and assure farmers that the past negative practices would not be tolerated under the devolved units. He was speaking Friday during a function at a Nakuru hotel.
Chaptarus also blamed members for lack of commitment in the management of the co-operative societies, which left a heavy burden on the officials.
He said there were many dairies co-operative societies in Nakuru County but most of them concentrated on the rudimentary roles of transporting milk for their members.
But, he said, there was a need for the societies to grow and even start manufacturing feeds for their members because the adulterated feeds were reducing their milk production and affecting the health of their animals.
He said the conducive climate for dairy farming in the county has not been exploited extensively in order to make the county the exemplary milk producer.
By Veronica Bosibori
