For more cash, I bypass co-op and sell my own milk

Every morning, Basilio Kinyua Ngaine, 40, a resident of Muganani village in Tharaka Nithi County, is up by 4am to milk his cows.

He has to do the task early so that the milk in the market by 5.30am.

Well, he does not supply the produce to the different processors in the region, but he sells it himself at two of his milk shops, which are licensed by the Kenya Dairy Board.

“I transport the milk some seven kilometres to Chuka town. It has to be there early for people to buy to make breakfast. I previously sold my milk to a co-operative but I chose the new route because of low payment, which was Sh36 a litre,” he says.

Then there was also the issue of delayed payment, which often grounded his operations because he had no cash flow.
“Sometimes my records and those of the cooperative did not tally. So they ended up paying me less.”

Tired of the frustrations, Kinyua who keeps nine dairy animals decided to change tack as he realised that he wasn’t reaping from his agribusiness.

He established his first milk selling point in Chuka three years ago, which proved successful with time, and with an overwhelming demand, he opened another selling point last year.

“I sell 150 and 170 litres of milk daily, half of which I milk from my two cows currently and source the rest from farmers. I sell at the outlets from Sh50 to 60 a litre,” he says.

Kinyua went into dairy farming some four years ago after ploughing Sh200,000 into the business, which mainly went into buying three Friesian heifers.

“I have been improving my herd over the years as I seek to end up with pedigree animals.”

To enhance on milk production, Kinyua offers the animals high quality silage rich in energy and protein. In addition, he grows napier, utilises dry maize stalks, which he preserves during the dry season among other fodder varieties.

He says his main challenge is being not able to produce enough milk to meet the market demand.

GOOD MILK SELLING PREMISES

He has three workers, one on the farm and one each at the two selling points. He also helps them perform the work when he is not attending to other business matters.

Paul Mambo, a consultant with SNV in Meru, explains that to sustain milk production, a farmer’s breeding goals should focus on that during breeding.

“Select a bull that will help you get more milk but this also depends on the type of cow you would want to keep as high producing animals require high level of management. The level of management and ecological zones are also key factors as heat stress affects production,” he says.

Maclean Egesa, a technical expert in the dairy industry, however, notes that while it can be more profitable to sell milk independently, belonging in cooperative is important.

“Sometimes selling own milk can make you live from hand to mouth and you don’t get to enjoy the benefits farmers in cooperatives do such as access to credit and trainings.”

According to him, a good milk selling premises should have running water with an installed septic tank.

“The premise should also have a bright colour paint, a ceiling and the proprietor together with the workers handling the milk should have a medical certificate from a public general hospital. Coolers are also important to avoid milk spoilage,” he says.

He recommends that for better milk production, farmers should buy animals from a farm that has a track record so that when the animals are taken to one’s farm, with good husbandry practices, automatically a higher production will be realised.

“But if the farmer can manage to breed his own animals, he should do it with the help of a technical expert as to be in a position to interpret a catalogue among other good husbandry practices.”