The County Government of Nakuru has started the distribution of milk coolers to farmer groups in the devolved unit as an intervention aimed at minimising wastage and boosting dairy farming.
According to official statistics, milk production in Nakuru is primarily done by smallholder farmers, who account for 56 per cent of the total output.
County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries Mr. Leonard Bor said the decisive step to issue milk coolers is aimed at breathing new life into the dairy sector, enhancing the sale of quality milk, and reducing losses.
While indicating that the devolved unit has an estimated population of 466,800 dairy cattle, Bor stated that it is projected that the value of raw milk produced in the County will increase by about 22 per cent in the next three years to over 16 billion shillings.
Bor indicated that the joint initiative by the County administration, the National Government and private sector partners incorporates upgrading local breeds, training farmers on the formulation of quality feeds, and promoting good animal husbandry practices to boost milk production.
Speaking when he handed over to members of Chemare Farmers’ Cooperative Society a 2000-litre milk cooler and a backup generator, the county executive assured farmers that Governor Susan Kihika’s administration will continue to channel more resources into the dairy industry as the subsector directly employs 120,212 farm families, supporting over 500,000 people in Nakuru.
He noted the automatic backup generator for the milk cooling plant to the Cooperative Society would help solve electric power blackout challenges that result in milk spoilage and losses to farmers and also ensure the sustainability of the dairy project.
Also present at the event were Cooperatives Chief Officer Kibet Kurgat, his Environment and Climate Change counterpart Kennedy Mungai, Kiptororo Ward Member of County Assembly Alex Bor, and Chemare Farmers’ Cooperative Society chairperson Samson Mibei.
Kenya has the highest per capita milk consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa, at 110 litres. The demand, currently at eight billion litres, is also expected to grow with the population increase.
The National Government on its part, has prioritised the industry in national strategy and plans, such as the Agricultural Sector Transformational and Growth Strategy (2019-2029) and a Dairy Master Plan to guide the development of the industry up to 2030.
Milk production in Nakuru, Bor noted, has been rising gradually in the past six years due to the adoption of good agricultural practices by smallholder farmers and increased investments in milk collection and cooling infrastructure by the Ministry of Agriculture, the County Government and private sector players.
“The cooler will also help the farmers to aggregate the milk, ensuring the produce gets to the market in good condition, hence increasing their bargaining power,” he added.
He said the implementation of the Sh 570 million Nakuru County Dairy Value Chain Strategic Plan (NCDVCSP) and support from the National Government’s Agriculture Sector Development Support Programme Phase Two (ASDSP II) two years ago had transformed many smallholder farms in the region into profitable ventures, with farmers reaping the benefits of embracing new dairy technologies.
“Nakuru County now produces an average of 300 million litres of milk annually, an improvement of over 25 per cent since 2019, making it the third leading devolved unit in milk production,” noted the CECM.
According to Bor, this has also been made possible through sustained empowerment by processors such as New KCC and Brookside Dairy Limited through training on good dairy practices that encourage growth in milk volumes.
“Thanks to interventions put in place by the County Government, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries through the ASDSP II programme and our partners in the private sector, dairy farmers in Nakuru are pocketing at least Sh 1.6 million daily in raw milk sales to processors. The growing fortunes of dairy have seen nearly every household in all 11 sub-counties, especially those in the rural areas, keep at least one dairy cow, as families seek a regular source of income.”
“Farmers have been upgrading their local breeds through artificial insemination with support from both levels of government and other stakeholders. Over 6,000 farmers have used superior semen from approved bulls to serve cows so that the subsequent generation is improved to pedigree breed,” he pointed out.
Bor further indicated that the training of farmers has also addressed quality and safety of dairy products, low milk production, inefficient markets and unstable market prices, inappropriate land-use practices, and post-harvest losses of dairy products.
“Climate-smart actions in the dairy sector in Kenya have a huge potential in spurring growth in the milk value chain. That’s why feed preparation and conservation are critical aspects of sustaining production throughout the year,” added the CECM.
Mr. Bor said the county government was empowering dairy farmer cooperatives to modernise their operations. The involvement of cooperatives along the dairy value chain, he said, has also enabled farmers to better manage transaction costs involved during the marketing of raw milk.
He stated that the county administration has brought together 13 milk farmer groups under the umbrella of the Nakuru County Union of Dairy Cooperatives, which were jointly yielding 40,000 litres of milk per day.
“Brokers and milk transporters who profit from dairy farmers’ sweat will soon be out of the way as we invest in dairy infrastructure while farmers use cooperatives to directly engage processors.
He noted once cooperative movement is fully adopted in the daily subsector, farmers will be able to get rid of costly transporters and thus get more share of the producer price paid by processors.
“A cooperative mode will enable Kenya to modernise its dairy sector, where farmers will be compelled to sell milk via dairy societies that also become channels for quality monitoring and credit access as well as dairy husbandry training,” added Mr. Bor.
Traditionally, transporters collect raw milk from farmers and market the same to various outlets only for farmers to be paid at a set price less Sh3 a litre as a transport fee. This sees transporters bargain for better prices but retain low prices for farmers.
The CECM affirmed that towards improving access to markets for dairy farmers, the County Government has been focusing on rehabilitating and developing infrastructure in rural and farming areas.
The devolved unit has set up 11 milk cooling stations and milk sheds for eleven cooperatives across the devolved unit to reduce the time farmers take in moving the perishable commodity to the facilities.
The facilities also have standby generators to mitigate power outages, boosting their output. In addition, the cooling facilities are bulking, chilling, and pasteurising raw milk before it is transported to processing facilities.
They are also enabling dairy farmers to store their milk and sell it to processors at a good price and at their convenience.
Among the beneficiaries are Biashara Wakulima Dairy Cooperative from Biashara Ward from Naivasha Sub-County, who have received two milk cooling facilities with a total capacity of 5,000 litres; Teta Farmers in Kuresoi South, who have gotten a 3,000-litre cooling plant; Elbam Cooperative Society in Molo Sub-County (3,000 litres); and Burgei in Rongai Sub-County (3,000 litres).
Three years ago, the County Government, in partnership with Egerton University, also launched the first pilot solar milk cooler in Bahati Sub County at the new Nakuru Fresh Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society, while Starlight and Rongai Acacia dairy cooperatives equipment in Kuresoi North and Rongai subcounties, respectively, were equipped with dairy value addition machines.
The equipment includes 500-litre milk pasteurisers, 300-litre milk dispensers, and milk cooling systems of 1000 litres.
According to the county’s department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, 70 per cent of the total land acreage in Nakuru is agriculturally productive, with a huge capacity for livestock production, especially for dairy cows.
Many farmers in the region are making good profits with all the country’s major processors collecting milk both in the lower and high-altitude regions of the county.
Mr. Mibei indicated that the cooler will help the farmers to aggregate the milk, ensuring the produce gets to the market in good condition, hence increasing their bargaining power.
He disclosed that the Cooperative has a total of 1300 members, including over 100 youths and two people with disabilities.
Additionally, the chairperson said the Cooperative Society would be able to increase delivery of milk to over 60,000 litres of milk monthly to the milk processing company, with the current daily deliveries ranging between 1800 litres to 2500 litres.
By Jane Ngugi and Alvin Kamau
