How we cut the high cost of dairy feeds

Mwaro group chairman Peter Muchina (left) with members of the group in Nakuru. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH |

What you need to know:

  • A 45kg bag of maize bran goes for Sh765 if one buys individually.
  • However, the group buys the same bag for Sh600 in bulk.

The high price of animal feeds has made dairy farming an expensive affair.

With a litre of milk going for as low as Sh30, many farmers are struggling to stay afloat.

But one of the reasons farmers find the going tough is because they buy feeds individually.

Mwariki, Rhoda Farmers Self Help Group (Mwaro) in Nakuru has overcome the challenge of costly feeds.

“We are 15 small dairy farmers, all based in the Mwariki slums. We came together in 2009 after realising that it was getting tougher for us to afford dairy feeds.

“The idea was to find as many farmers as possible so that we could contribute money and buy feeds in bulk,” says Onesmus Mwangi, the group’s vice-chair, who started the group with Peter Muchina, the chair.

The two sold the idea to fellow farmers in the slum and neighbouring ones.

They liked it and joined them in forming the group.

“What we liked about the whole idea was that by buying animal feeds jointly, we would be able to negotiate for cheaper prices and save on transport costs,” says Muchina.

A 45kg bag of maize bran goes for Sh765 if one buys individually. However, the group buys the same bag for Sh600 in bulk.

“We bought 60 bags of the dairy feed in August and hired a lorry to transport to each of our farms at Sh2,500 in total,” says Mwangi.

Individually, the farmers would have been charged Sh150 per bag for transport.

Before going to shop, the group discusses what they need. They then contribute money and send members to buy.

The feeds are then shared among themselves depending on their financial contributions.

Besides bran, they jointly source for hay and other fodder like lucerne thus getting the best bargain.

“On average, we buy a bale of hay at Sh100, which is fair than the Sh150 to Sh200 price individual farmers are offered,” says Muchina.

Each member has a store on their farm where they keep their feeds. The farmers own an average of an eighth of an acre where each keeps three to seven cows.

CASH CHALLENGE

With members having different financial capabilities, one of their major challenges has been lack of cash.

“When time comes to make purchases, some people would complain that they did not have money.

“We have now curbed this by starting table-banking, where each one of us contributes Sh300 weekly from our milk sales,” explains Mwangi, adding that members can borrow up to Sh40,000 and repay with three per cent monthly interest.

Every Friday afternoon, members meet at Muchina’s farm to make contributions, borrow money and discuss issues affecting their animals.

Mwaro members have also agreed to sell milk at the same prices to avoid unfair competition.

“We seek market independently, mostly to our neighbours but group members must sell milk at the Sh50 agreed price per litre,” says Mwangi.

He says members get an average of 20 litres of milk per day from their Friesian cows.

Through the group, members further access veterinary services at affordable costs. “We share problems our cows face then contribute Sh500 to cater for the veterinary officer’s transport while other costs are met individually.”

Being in the group has also earned them training opportunities in different institutions, including Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology and Egerton University.

Simon Mburu, a livestock extension officer based in Molo, says farmers’ groups have great impact but members must avoid conflict.

“It is cheaper to access training and other services as a group.”

One of the group’s biggest challenges is managing waste. Some members have heaps of manure in their farms as they have no place to sell or dispose it.