President William Ruto has increased the allocation for the dairy sector with an additional Ksh2 billion shillings.
Ruto said the additional allocation was committed to supporting the dairy sector by boosting cooperatives and enhancing access to credit by farmers.
"We have demonstrated our commitment to supporting the dairy sector by allocating an additional KSh2 billion. This funding will boost dairy cooperatives, ensuring they pay better prices and promptly, and enhance farmers' access to credit," William Ruto said.
Speaking in Mitunguu, Meru County, Ruto laid the foundation stone for the Meru Maziwa Millers, which has a processing capacity of 12,000 tonnes of milk a month.
In an optimistic move early this year, the Head of State said reforming the dairy sector to boost earnings by farmers. (revise this sentence)
He stated that his government was spending Ksh 5 billion modernising New Kenya Co-operative Creameries (KCC) to enhance its efficiency in meeting the needs of farmers.
He observed that the goal of bolstering KCC’s processing capacity is to ensure it handles the entire volume of milk produced by farmers.
The President also directed KCC to begin paying milk farmers Ksh50 a litre beginning March 1, 2024, and ensure the price never fluctuates.
“From July 1, farmers will be paid every 15 days. This is how we will eliminate milk hawking, which arises when farmers are not paid for two to three months,” he said.
He explained that the government will also enhance farmers’ access to seasonal credit through the Agricultural Finance Corporation.
“The government has allocated Agricultural Finance Corporation Ksh 10 billion for this purpose,” he said.
The additional allocation came months after Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi launched the Kenya Dairy Sustainability Roadmap 2023-2032.
According to Linturi, the strategic plan leverages modern technology and climate-smart approaches to boost the dairy sector, aiming to produce an additional 2.5 billion litres of high-quality milk annually to meet the growing demand.
"This roadmap signifies our deliberate shift towards modern farming, advanced research, increased financial support, and expanded trade opportunities, aligning perfectly with the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda. It's not just about meeting the growing demand for quality milk but also addressing challenges like declining production, import dependence, climate change, and empowering young farmers," an optimistic Linturi said.
