The Kiambu county government has urged farmers to adopt labour saving technologies to boost dairy production.
Agriculture executive Wilfred Mwenda also asked dairy farmers to use modern feed cutters and quality feeds to reduce time wasted while cutting fodder.
They should partner with the government to get better quality semen.
“We are committed to collaborate with dairy farmers so as to ensure they produce more quality milk and they enjoy the profit of the work they do,” he said.
Dairy farmer James Kinyi said most farmers fail to enjoy the fruit of their ventures because of paying a lot of money to casual labourers to feed their animals.
“It is our prayer that the government may reduce the taxation of animal feeds so that the feed prices may reduce in order to enable us afford quality feeds,” Kinyi said.
They spoke during the opening of Catholic Church’s Caritas milk processing plant at the archdiocesan farm in Tigoni in Limuru constituency.
The event was graced by Nairobi Archbishop Phillip Anyolo.
The cleric urged locals and more so the youth to take up dairy farming since it was profitable.
He said farming creates job opportunities and food security.
“When people are idle, they are likely to spend the night without having eaten any food. It is therefore important people to start doing somewhere else. Dairy farming was important since one will sell milk which is so demanding in this country” he noted.
The archbishop thanked the farmers who supported the church’s milk venture until it has opened a processing plant.
The plant’s operations manager Sister Mary Mbaci said the processing plant worth Sh150 million has a capacity of processing 20,000 litres of milk daily.
