Government to invest in bulk cooling and storage infrastructure for the dairy sector

Naivasha,

Friday, September 29, 2023

KNA by Mabel Keya – Shikuku

Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mithika Linturi has said his ministry is investing in bulk cooling and storage infrastructure for the dairy sector which will support marketing cooperatives and the farmers in the sector. 

He noted that milk is a highly perishable product which needs efficient and orderly measures of collection and cooling, adding that marketing systems are also crucial to the overall viability and profitability of commercial dairy sector. 

To this end, Linturi announced that a cooler will soon be installed in every ward in high milk producing counties, noting that this will cushion farmers against losses and spoilage, thus raising their financial capabilities and safeguard milk quality. 

The remarks were contained in a speech read on his behalf by Deputy Secretary, Administration in the State department of Livestock Boniface Simba during the 67th Graduation Ceremony of the Dairy Training Institute (DTI) in Naivasha on Thursday. 

During the graduation, three groups totaling to 198 students who qualified were awarded certificates in Dairy Production and Management, Dairy Technology and Management, and Diploma in Dairy Production and Processing.

The CS observed that Dairy is a very crucial sub-sector as it accounts for about 15 percent total agricultural sector Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and contributes substantially to the national economy and still aims to play a significant role in achieving the 10 per cent economic growth as stipulated in the Kenya Vision 2030 blue print and is a major source of livelihood for the families of about 1.8 million small-scale farmers for whom dairy farming is a primary activity. 

“Consequently, Dairy sub-sector also offers employment to over two million people either directly or indirectly along the milk marketing chain and it accounts for the largest share of livestock contribution to the country's GDP at 3.5 per cent total GDP share as smallholder dairy production accounts for over 70 per cent of total milk produced,” Linturi stated. 

He also said due to the high contribution of the dairy value chain to the economy, Kenya Government has chosen to promote dairy as one of the priority areas under the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). 

Linturi explained that in line with BETA, the Government intends to carry out several interventions in the dairy value chain including doubling milk production per animal and maximizing lactation rates, set-up feed centres for livestock within each cooperative and establish dairy hubs with a variety of Business Development Services (BDS) to farmers that includes animal health, extension services and access to agro vet services among others. 

Other interventions include ensuring access to Artificial Insemination (AI) services within the dairy farmer cooperative societies, operationalization of milk processing plants for bulking to improve quality and market access as well as value addition and continual strengthening of the capacity of dairy hub management and farmers through various training, exposure visits and field days. 

“To this send, DTI will play a critical role of capacity building among the dairy producers and processors,” the CS declared. 

But Linturi was quick to note that the Dairy sector was facing various challenges namely climate change and recurrent drought, high cost of inputs, low productivity and declining land sizes and seasonality in production among other challenges. 

He said in order to address these challenges, the government will put in place the necessary institutional framework to ensure production and marketing of livestock and livestock products gives value to the livestock stakeholders.

“To further revamp the livestock sub-sector, the Government has committed to among others, organize farmers into collectives/societies to facilitate marketing of farmer produce, extension services, access to farm inputs and other related business development services, including provision of financial service,” Linturi retorted. 

Other measures, he said, will include enabling farmers access affordable feeds through bulk procurement and where possible set up feed storage facilities and modern feedlots, create a framework for compensation of livestock lost to droughts and famine through livestock insurance schemes and support restocking activities after droughts and whenever possible, improve farmers' earnings through value addition, establishment of cold chain infrastructure, slaughterhouses and processing factories and support disease surveillance activities among others. 

Linturi also announced plans to establish a Livestock Marketing Board to promote and guide livestock trade within and outside the country, and marketing facilities to provide timely and reliable market information. 

DTI Principal Mr. Abraham Katam said the institute continues to capacity build dairy farmers by offering short courses such as in feed formulation, but was facing serious shortage of manpower and general infrastructure to meet the growing demand for their training in the country and appealed to the government through the ministry to intervene. 

Courtesy; KNA