Milk prefects enhance quality, efficiency at dairy sacco

Grace Wanjiru delivers milk at a cooperative which supplies the produce to Happy Cow Ltd. With the help of prefects, many farmers who never used the right cans in milk transportation have procured them. FILE PHOTO | NMG

What you need to know:

  • The transporters are engaged by farmers themselves to oversee their milk transportation to the co-operative society
  • The farmers’ responsibility in this system is to milk hygienically and deliver the produce at the collection point while the transporter weighs, bulks and transports to the cooling plant.
  • Further, initially, the constructed milk collection points were hardly used and farmers’ mobilisation for training was difficult, but this has now changed.
  • Transporters too are send by farmers to buy antibiotics on their behalf in towns. That way, they assist in ensuring that milk with residues is not supplied for sale.

Most smallholder dairy farmers bulk their milk together in a can before delivering it to the cooling plant.

Therefore, achieving milk quality requirements can be an uphill task in such a collection system.

But farmers at Olenguruone Dairy Cooperative Society have found an innovative way to enhance quality.

This is after they were sensitised on milk quality requirements by students from Egerton University with the assistance of a milk chain coordinator at Olenguruone.

At the co-operative, a group of 10 farmers have volunteered to act as prefects at milk collection points. In their line of duty, they work closely with the milk transporters.

The transporters are engaged by farmers themselves to oversee their milk transportation to the co-operative society.

The prefects are responsible for grading the farmers’ milk and keeping it in water troughs awaiting transportation.

The parameters involved in grading include organoleptic, alcohol and density tests. Once the transporter arrives, he bulks the milk in the 50-litre cans as guided by allocation specifications.

This facilitates milk traceability if need arises. Aside from grading, the prefects also ensure that the collection points are cleaned and the dirty water replaced.

The farmers’ responsibility in this system is to milk hygienically and deliver the produce at the collection point while the transporter weighs, bulks and transports to the cooling plant.

With the help of the prefects, many farmers who never used the right cans in milk transportation have procured them.

This has improved the microbial load of their milk enabling them to access the quality bonus given by Happy Cow Limited, where the milk ends up.

ANTIBIOTIC RESIDUE

The challenges that contributed to the idea of coming up with the prefect included: a) Lack of digital weighing scales during milk collection, b) Delayed transportation to the cooling plant sometimes leading to milk rejection, c) Some farmers adulterating milk disadvantaging their colleagues in getting the quality bonus, and d) Use of plastic containers in the milk collection chain.

Further, initially, the constructed milk collection points were hardly used and farmers’ mobilisation for training was difficult, but this has now changed.

Farmers keeping an eye on their colleagues has played a huge role in observation of antibiotic residues at those particular collection points.

When veterinary services are requested, the farmers are able to know the cows that have been attended to. This limits the supply of milk from treated cows hence there is strict adherence to post-harvest interval.

Transporters too are send by farmers to buy antibiotics on their behalf in towns. That way, they assist in ensuring that milk with residues is not supplied for sale.

Generally, efficiency has improved as farmers are bringing their milk at the collection points on time, in the right cans and with no residues.

The prefect volunteers do not receive monetary compensation from the co-operative. However, they have been trained on milk quality therefore they have a lot to share and have formed a lead farmers’ group.

They dream to one day have their farms as demonstration centres. They also understand well the importance of corporate social responsibility, which is their great motivator.

This model can be adopted in Kenyan value chains to ensure improved milk quality.

The writer works at Happy Cow Limited