This archive report was first published on 20 August 2019.
On August 20, 2019, Embu MCA Robert Ireri called for a ban on the sale of milk from Uganda to protect the county's dairy farmers from huge losses and exploitation by local creameries.
Ireri claimed that the sale of cheap milk from Uganda in Embu shops has led to local dairy farmers discarding their milk due to lack of market and overproduction.
He also expressed concern over local milk companies, including the Kenya Cooperative Creameries and Brookside, which he claims are taking advantage of the glut to exploit dairy farmers by buying the commodity cheaply and withholding payments for long periods.
Ireri singled out Brookside, which he claims had not paid Kirimiri Farmers' Self-Help Group for the last two months, yet they were still picking the product every day.
He emphasized that dairy farmers have nowhere else to take their milk, and he intends to push for the formulation of a policy to regulate production, marketing, and sale of milk and other dairy products within Embu county.
