This archive report was first published on 5 July 2020.
July 5, 2020 - Kenya's dairy sector is facing a crisis, with the influx of substandard animal feeds threatening the livelihoods of farmers.
Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Peter Munya, has called on the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and the parliamentary committee on trade to take action against manufacturers of substandard feeds.
Speaking during a tour of the Kenya Co-operative Creameries (KCC) factory in Nyeri, Munya said that the dairy sector is not realizing its desired results due to the sale of substandard feeds and concentrates in the market.
'At the moment, the dairy sector is not realizing its desired results due to the fact that what farmers are buying as animal feed is not standard,' Munya said. 'We urge KEBS and the parliamentary committee to crack their whip and ensure that standards are up to date since they are there but no one is enforcing them.'
According to animal health experts, a healthy dairy animal consuming quality feeds and concentrates can produce up to 40 litres of milk per day. However, most farmers are currently producing as low as 10 litres per day.
With the current price of milk at Sh34 per litre, many farmers are struggling to break even, with some calling for a price increase to Sh50 per litre.
Munya has pledged to support the dairy sector, with his ministry setting aside Sh1.8 billion for the modernization of KCC factories countywide. The first phase of the modernization project will focus on the Kiganjo factory, which will be equipped with machines for instant powdered milk.
'Most of these factories have obsolete machines, some of them set up in 1969,' Munya said. 'We are in the process of modernizing them to ensure this cooperative runs profitably.'
Kieni MP Kanini Kega, who is the chair of the trade committee, has pledged to provide more support to the milk industry, saying that farmers must earn good returns.
'We will continue to support the sector by providing funds and registration,' Kega said. 'We plan to enact a fund for dairy farmers similar to the cherry fund.'
