Spoiled and wasted milk is costing dairy producers up to KSh1.7 billion ($25 million) each year, according to the Kenya Dairy Board, which is launching an education plan to stem the losses. The industry regulator's statistics show that farmers lose an estimated 95 million litres of milk a year, and the board is responding with a plan aimed at training all those along the production chain in better handling practices.
The growing dairy industry, whose marketed production value rose from Sh5.3 billion to Sh6.4 billion ($80 million to $96 million) from 2005 to 2006, according to the latest national economic survey contributes about 3.8 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. In 2006, the country's producers recorded 3.8 billion litres, up from 3.12 billion litres four years ago.
KDB's MD, Paul Gichohi, attributes the sector's growth to improved prices and an expanded local and international market. "This big growth has been due to the favourable returns to milk producers occasioned by improved milk prices, and prompt payment for deliveries, enhanced marketing opportunities, improved credit facilities among other things," he said.
Wastage of milk has remained a thorn in the industry's side, but Gichohi says that can only be changed through education. The board would train milk handlers to improve efficiency and hygiene across the chain of production.The KDB is also rolling out milk coolers to rural areas to aid in preservation, especially for informal milk hawkers who handle 80 per cent of the country's milk.
Gichohi said to better tap in to the sector, the Government has set aside Sh600 million ($9 million) for milk treatment and to help absorb surplus milk in the high season. "This will also create an additional market for milk," he added. Dairy farming has shifted since independence from large-scale farming to small scale.
An open market until 1969, the State turned the dairy industry into an effective monopoly through rationalisation. But since 1992, dairy farming has undergone continued liberalisation that has seen stiffer competition in the market. Today, 34 active milk processors make a range of dairy products and milk processing volumes have spiked since 2002. This had led to the country becoming self-reliant in milk, except for periods of extended drought.
Government has tightened regulation of informal hawkers over concerns about health, through improved enforcement of existing laws such as the Dairy Industry Act and Public Health Act.
The latest scheme could bring drastic changes in operations by bringing more milk vendors into the mainstream through training and bringing in certification and branding for greater consumer confidence in the products. Despite its growth, the milk sector remains held back by health concerns over unprocessed milk, as well as the uncertainty of rains, on which most producers rely, the KDB MD said.
Business Daily
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