Friesian cow that made me a dairy farmer

Sella Nyangweso in Kakamega with the cow she won in a competition. PHOTO | JACOB OWITI |

What you need to know:

  • The couple has only the Friesian cow and the calf, but the two animals have changed their lives tremendously.
  • They won the cow in a competition involving 45 farmers’ groups.

As the door of the cattle shed opens, Yubata, the cow, mows loudly after seeing its three-weeks-old calf named Tahir outside.

“We have separated the two so that the calf does not suckle,” says Sella Khabetsa, 48, who lives in Lurambi, Kakamega County.

Her husband, Daniel Nyangweso, 52, leads the calf in the shed where Yubata is.

The couple has only the Friesian cow and the calf, but the two animals have changed their lives tremendously.

“Yubata produces 10 litres of milk every day… we sell some and use the rest at home,” says Nyangweso.

WON IN A COMPETITION

Their lives now revolve around Yubata, which they won in a competition in December last year.

At 5am, Sella milks the cow and gives her husband the milk to sell at a market centre at Sh60 a litre.

“We give the cow sugarcane stalks and napier grass, which makes milk thicker and tastier. Desmodium, a legume, is used to spice the feeds.”

They also preserve maize stalks for making silage. They add molasses to make it tastier and thus increase milk production.

The couple won the cow in a competition involving 45 farmers’ groups.

To enter the competition organised by Rural Outreach Programme (ROP), a community based organisation, in collaboration with Nestle Kenya, farmers were supposed to be engaging in profitable agribusiness.

Out of the 45 entries, three groups benefitted.

“Our group, Isembe Sap, was lucky because by that time, we had Sh20,000 from our tomato harvest. The money was to ascertain if we are in a position to cater for the cow.”

Nyangweso was given the cow, but he was supposed to hand the first calf to a member of his group in a ‘merry-go-round’ fashion.

According to Western Kenya ROP extension officer Arthar Namai, the winners give up their first calf and each day contribute a litre of milk towards the purchase of in-calved cows for other members.

Subsequent beneficiaries would also give a calf but the earlier ones continue to contribute milk.

“A litre of milk goes for Sh60 retail price. Each month, six farmers contribute around Sh11,000, enabling the merry-go-round go faster,” he explains.

Nyangweso gets Sh500 a day from milk sales, which they use to cater for their upkeep.