Dairy farmers demand pay hike

By Osinde Obare

Dairy farmers in North Rift want New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC) to increase the price of milk delivered to its plants for processing.

The farmers said the cost of rearing dairy animals had short up making them unable to make profits from the investment.

And milk deliveries to Kitale KCC depot has dropped to 24,000 from 50,000 litres daily as farmers in the region complain of poor prices for the produce.

The farmers protested that the government has failed to address the issue despite their having repeatedly called for adjustment of the prices.

Through Trans-Nzoia Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers (KNEFAP) the farmers demand the prices be raised from Sh 21 to Sh 30 per litre.

High cost of production

The farmers expressed concern that various shortcomings have put them on a long loss trail with little intervention from the government.

A spot check revealed that some farmers have opted to sell their milk to private companies such as Brookside offering prices between Sh 25 and Sh 28 per litre.

Nyagechaga said farmers were unable to adopt to new farming technqiques as a result of poor returns from the business , a situation that could block the sector from achieving the Vision 2030 targets.

Dairy industry at a glance

Milk supply to New KCC Kitale plant has dropped by 30,000 litres daily as farmers decline to deliver their milk to the factory due to poor prices

Prices of dairy meals have remained high, raising the cost of production for the farmers.

Poor state of roads has hampered efforts by farmers to deliver dairy perishable products to the market in good time.