The government has begun the distribution and installation of bulk milk coolers to 40 counties at a cost of Ksh 1.45 billion.
The Ministry of Agriculture says the investment targets to accelerate transformation in the dairy sector by increasing production and cushioning farmers against post-harvest loss.
The initiative was kicked off last month by President William Ruto in Meru County with the distribution of the first batch of 15 bulk milk coolers to farmer-owned cooperatives, with a total of 230 coolers set to be distributed across 40 counties.
Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, today led the distribution of an additional 8 bulk milk coolers to dairy farmer cooperatives under the Livestock Value Chain Support Project.
The project is aimed at facilitating the transformation of smallholder farmers’ systems that will enable their transition from subsistence to commercial farming through increased value addition and market participation.
Speaking at the flag-off in Nyeri, the CS said the coolers will be pivotal in enhancing value addition and cooperative milk handling capacity, which is a key part in addressing infrastructural challenges that have hampered the dairy industry.
“Dairy farmers across the country play a significant role in contributing to the country’s milk basket. Therefore, the supply of these milk coolers will not only boost storage but also improve milk quality, marketability, and ultimately farmer incomes, which is our primary goal. The 230 milk coolers will increase national chilling capacity by 475,000 litres daily,” said Kagwe.
In efforts to boost the dairy sector, the CS said the government will invest in both private and public milk processors to ensure that all milk produced by farmers is collected, processed for the local market and exported to other markets.
The dairy industry is a backbone of Kenya’s agricultural economy, contributing 4pc to the GDP and supporting over 2 million people directly and indirectly.
Last year, Kenya produced an estimated 5.3 billion litres of milk, 80pc of which came from smallholder farmers.
The initiative also targets to cut milk losses estimated at 175 million litres or 6pc of total produced volume equivalent to Ksh 7.9 billion
Kagwe said the initiative aligns with the broader government agenda under the Bottom-up Economic Transformation, where the Ministry projects to export 1 billion litres of milk annually, generate 500,000 jobs in the sector, double milk production from the current 5.3 billion litres annually to 10 billion litres by 2027 and utilize 70pc of the current processing capacity.
Kagwe however, noted that to achieve this, issues of productivity, inadequate breeding stocks and feeding, diseases and pests, poor infrastructure, post-harvest losses, and emerging challenges occasioned by climate change must be addressed efficiently in order to maximize the farmers’ efforts.
He added that the government intends to lease available arable public land for large scale farming of fodder, sunflower and other requisite ingredients that will bring down the cost of production to scale up dairy productivity.
“We must adopt practical and viable interventions to transform the dairy sector. We must synergize our efforts to increase production and productivity through commercialization of pasture and fodder production, enhance production of quality sexed semen, and a mass livestock vaccination drive that will ensure that our meat and dairy products meet international standards and qualify to sell on their shelves,” he added.
