Dairy farmers at Podago Dairy Cooperative Society Limited in Kirinyaga Central have received a 5,000-litre milk cooler to reduce post-harvest losses and improve their earnings.
The facility is expected to strengthen milk handling and storage, particularly during periods of high milk production when farmers struggle to find a ready market.
Speaking during commissioning of the cooler, Kirinyaga Central MP Gacoki Gitari said it would help reduce losses farmers had been incurring due to inadequate cool storage.
“Farmers have been counting losses in the past due to lack of proper storage facilities, especially when there is surplus milk in the market,” Gitari said.
He said improved storage would enable farmers to preserve their milk for longer and create room for cooperatives to pursue value addition, which would increase returns and create employment opportunities.
Gitari assured farmers the government was committed to protecting their interests and supporting initiatives to reap greater benefits from agriculture.
Kirinyaga Trade and Cooperatives executive Calbert Njeru said the county government had partnered with the national government to ensure milk coolers were strategically installed closer to farmers.
Proximity minimise losses and improves the quality of milk delivered to cooperatives. Njeru urged dairy cooperatives to invest more in value addition — producing yoghurt, cheese, butter, ghee, and pasteurised milk — instead of relying solely on the sale of raw milk, saying processing would enable farmers to earn more from their produce.
Kirinyaga produces about 86 million litres of milk annually, valued at Sh3.1 billion, according to county government figures.
The increase in production has been attributed to improved dairy breeds, artificial insemination, better animal feeds and extension services.
The county government has also been supporting dairy cooperatives with milk cooling and value-addition initiatives as it strengthens the dairy value chain and increases farm household incomes.
Dairy farmers welcomed the cooler, saying it would ease their problems of storing and preserving milk by reducing spoiling and improving quality, thus raising their incomes.
With annual milk production running into tens of millions of litres, stakeholders say investment in cooling, processing and marketing remains key to ensuring farmers benefit fully from Kirinyaga’s growing dairy industry.
INSTANT ANALYSIS
The new milk cooler with the capacity to store 5,000 litres of milk is expected to reduce wastage, improve the quality of milk and ultimately increase their earnings. Kirinyaga produces about 86 million litres of milk annually, valued at approximately Sh3.1 billion, according to county government figures
