Brookside to boost farmers’ production

Milk processor Brookside is set train smallholder dairy farmers across 26 counties on modern farming methods.

The firm has partnered with various stakeholders, including dairy input service providers, development partners and the Ministry of Agriculture, to enable farmers adopt recommended practices in milk production.

The initiative seeks to get farmers get into commercial dairy farming to boost their incomes.

John Gethi, Brookside’s director of milk procurement, said dairy farmers in the 26 main milk-producing counties would benefit from the training, whose cost would be met by the processor and participating stakeholders.

“Our focus on smallholder dairy farmers is premised on the need to attain sustainability in the dairy sector. We want to build capacity in the smallholder farmer to produce milk throughout all seasons and significantly reduce dependence on rain-fed dairy production,” Mr Gethi said at the launch of the training in Bungoma over the weekend.

An estimated one million smallholders are engaged in dairy farming.

— Lee Mwiti