Dairy farmers earn US$106.3M from milk production

KENYA –  County Executive Committee Member (CECM) from Nakuru county has revealed that US$106.3 million was earned by dairy farmers from the sale of 318 million liters of milk last year.

Mr. Leonard Bor, the CECM in charge of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries, stated that Nakuru has an estimated population of 466,800 dairy cattle, with exotic breeds and indigenous breeds accounting for 60% and 40% of milk production respectively.

He projected that the value of raw milk produced in the county would increase by about 22% over the next three years to over Sh16 billion.

Mr. Bor highlighted a joint initiative by the county administration, the national government, and private sector partners that focuses on upgrading local breeds, training farmers on quality feed formulation, and promoting good animal husbandry practices to achieve that.

He assured farmers that the county’s Governor Susan Kihika’s administration will continue to invest resources in the dairy industry, which directly employs 120,212 farm families and supports over 500,000 people in Nakuru.

Over the past six years, milk production in Nakuru has been rising steadily due to smallholder farmers’ adoption of good agricultural practices and increased investments in milk collection and cooling infrastructure.

The implementation of the Sh570 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) have transformed many smallholder farms into profitable ventures, with farmers benefiting from new dairy technologies.

Nakuru now produces an average of 300 million liters of milk annually, an improvement of over 25 percent since 2019. This makes it the third leading county in milk production after Kiambu and Murang’a.

Mr. Bor noted that this progress has been facilitated by sustained support from processors such as New KCC and Brookside Dairy Limited, which have provided training on good dairy practices.

The growing profitability of dairy farming has led nearly every household in the county’s rural areas to keep at least one dairy cow as a regular source of income.

Farmers have also been upgrading their local breeds through artificial insemination with superior semen, supported by the government and other stakeholders.

Over 6,000 farmers have used superior semen from approved bulls to improve their cattle breeds. Training for farmers has also addressed the quality and safety of dairy products, low milk production, inefficient markets, unstable market prices, inappropriate land-use practices, and post-harvest losses.

Mr. Bor emphasized the importance of climate-smart actions in the dairy sector, particularly in feed preparation and conservation, to sustain yearly production.

Meanwhile, the county government has unveiled imitiatives to empower dairy farmer cooperatives to modernize their operations, reducing transaction costs in marketing raw milk.

Thirteen milk farmer groups have been brought together under the Nakuru County Union of Dairy Cooperatives, producing 40,000 liters daily.

This cooperative model aims to eliminate costly intermediaries, allowing farmers to engage directly with processors and retain more of the producer price.

The CECM affirmed that the County Government has been focusing on rehabilitating and developing infrastructure in rural areas to improve market access for dairy farmers.

Nakuru County has established 11 milk cooling stations and sheds across the county to reduce the time farmers spend transporting the perishable commodity.

These facilities are equipped with standby generators to mitigate power outages and bulk, chill, and pasteurize raw milk before transportation to processing facilities.

They allow farmers to store their milk and sell it to processors at favorable prices and convenience.

Beneficiaries include Biashara Wakulima Dairy Cooperative in Naivasha Sub-County, Teta Farmers in Kuresoi South, Elbam Cooperative Society in Molo Sub-County, and Burgei in Rongai Sub-County, all of which received milk cooling facilities with varying capacities.

Additionally, in partnership with Egerton University, the County Government launched the first pilot solar milk cooler in Bahati Sub-County at the Nakuru Fresh Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society.

Other cooperatives have been equipped with dairy value addition machines, such as Starlight and Rongai Acacia in Kuresoi North and Rongai Sub-Counties.

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