Beefing up growth, competitiveness of Kenya dairy sector – Business Daily
Beefing up growth, competitiveness of Kenya dairy sector
Livestock farmers have been dealt a huge blow by the loss of their
livestock for the last four seasons due to the prolonged drought
accelerated by climate change.
This has been coupled with challenges of poor milk quality, poor
animal husbandry, declining genetic base, diminishing land sizes in
high potential areas, and infrastructure bottlenecks such as poor road
networks and lack of cooling and storage facilities.
READ: Kieni dairy farmers cut off cartels with processing firm
Milk — which is primarily produced by smallholder dairy farmers under
three main production systems of zero grazing, semi-zero grazing, and
open grazing — is in high demand mainly due to population growth,
increasing urbanisation, and rising incomes.
To meet this high demand, the government has given priority to the
industry in national strategic plans such as the Dairy Master Plan to
guide the development of the dairy sector up to 2030.
The Dairy Master Plan was developed in 1991, outlining strategies for
improving efficiency and productivity in the dairy sub-sector.
However, it was overtaken by rapid events that led to the
liberalisation of milk marketing in 1992.
In spite of these, the government has developed a policy aimed at
improving the productivity and competitiveness of dairy products,
increasing domestic consumption of milk and milk products,
transforming the dairy industry into a net exporter to the regional
and global markets, and re-orienting milk processing.
Even though the government is focused on improving the dairy sector,
this industry faces challenges that affect its growth.
As a result, Kenya has had to import to meet this demand. One of the
reasons for this is the low average annual dairy productivity that is
at six to eight litres per cow per day, according to a report by
Tegemeo Institute.
Low-level productivity increases the cost of production as well as
affects the competitiveness of the industry. To meet the domestic
demand, all the players need to work together to improve farm
productivity and the efficiency of dairy markets.
READ: How Kenya could increase its dairy sector production
Firstly, dairy milk yield is determined by its genetic composition.
The choice of breed is informed by factors such as production system,
ability, experience, or expertise of the farmer, and environmental
factors. Exotic breeds produce high volumes compared to indigenous
breeds but indigenous breeds are more resilient.
Secondly, animal health affects the productivity of milking heads and
the quality of milk. A study by Food Control on milk quality and
hygiene, 2021, revealed that a majority of dairy farmers adopted
animal health measures and hygienic measures such as hand washing and
udder cleaning.
More stringent implementation of measures on animal health and food
safety is required.
Feeds are essential to dairy productivity and farmers are dealing with
low-quality and high-cost feed.
A study on the Effects of Calliandra and Sesbania on Daily Milk production in Dairy cows on
commercial smallholder farms in Kenya by Veterinary Medicine
International shows that improving the quality of fodder significantly
improves milk productivity.
Abe is an environmental architect and the Executive Director of Mambo Heritage.
