Farmers rake in Sh1.3m daily from milk sales

Dairy farmers are making a killing from milk sales following a rise in the price of the commodity.

Farmers in the region are earning a record Sh1.3 million daily after delivering their milk to the market.

They produce 40,000 litres of milk every day. Each litre goes for Sh32, according to New Kenya Cooperative Creameries’ Central region coordinator Luka Kiragu.

If the trend continues, farmers may produce 120,000 litres daily by the beginning of next year.

“The dairy industry is growing fast since the price of milk started rising steadily last year. The number of dairy cows currently being reared in the entire county is 250,000, which is encouraging,” Mr Kiragu told the Nation in Kerugoya town on Sunday.

The county is now among the top 10 devolved units known to produce the highest number of litres of milk.

COOLING PLANT
Due to the rise in production, New KCC has constructed a Sh6 million milk cooling plant at Baricho in Ndia sub-county. It will be inaugurated in two weeks.

“We are committed to ensuring that farmers are given the best service now that they have proven to be hardworking,” said Mr Kiragu.

He attributed the growth of the industry to calls on the need to invest heavily in dairy farming.

“We have been going around the county, stressing to farmers the importance of keeping dairy cows. They heeded our advice and are now getting good returns from their efforts,” he said.

The farmers welcomed the cooling plant, saying it would ensure their milk does not go to waste.

The farmers are happy with the prices in the market. They said they were making profits.

Mr Kiragu said the prices would continue to rise due to the high demand for the commodity in urban centres.