Hundreds of dairy farmers in Wumingu, Taita Taveta county are seeking alternatives to supply milk after the Brookside Dairy Limited closed business in the area.
The company closed its 10,000-litre cooling plant last month after operating in the area for close to 10 years.
This is the second time the giant milk company is closing down the Wumingu Cooling Plant, citing low milk production occasioned by the existence of brokers in the area.
The Ruiru-based company had in 2020 notified farmers that it would exit the region due to undersupply of raw milk and unsustainable business.
Negotiations on its stay have been ongoing since then but no substantial agreement was reached at, forcing the company to exit,
“Problems started when they wanted us to deliver milk at Ruiru instead of coming for it. They would pay at least Sh53 per litre. The price went down to Sh48 per litre and could no longer supply,” Apolinary Tulu, a member of Mwafugha Dairy Cooperative told the Star in an interview.
He said the company might have opted out due to low milk volumes occasioned by stiff competition from other buyers.
The company was buying more than 45 per cent of the entire raw milk produced in the area. The remaining milk is bought by other milk companies and middlemen who supply to the local market.
“Initially the company had a big scope but formation of many cooperatives has downsized the milk volumes,” Tulu added.
Tulu said the Mwafugha Dairy Cooperative is now pursuing options of working with the Kenya Creameries Cooperative to sell milk and avert possible losses.
He however said they do not have a cooling plant and are forced to store their milk at the Ngache Dairy Cooperative’s cooling plant at Werugha.
“KCC has come on board and we are combining efforts with Ngache and Wundanyi farmers to meet their demand,” he said, noting that the Wumingu farmers produce at least 1,200 litre per day.
He asked the government to support the dairy value chain through market linkage to reduce losses, pointing out that the daily milk production is too high for the local market.
Statistics from the county’s livestock department indicate that the county has a milk production capacity of 19 million litres per year.
At least 10,000 smallholder farmers are engaged in dairy production in the county, creating business in the local market.
Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries executive Erickson Kyongo however assured the farmers that the department is working on installing a new cooling plant at Wumingu to help farmers reduce losses.
“Plans are underway to have a new cooling plant installed. There is no need to panic because everything is under control,” Kyongo told the Star on phone.
He said the devolved unit has already linked the farmers with KCC, further cautioned them against dealing with unscrupulous middlemen, whom he said will negatively affect the milk business.
Kyongo said the county is further training cooperatives on management for sustainability of their business to reduce over dependence on government.
Wundanyi MP Danson Mwashako on Monday insisted on the need for a long-term solution for the milk market that can guarantee a sustainable business model.
“We had a meeting with the Mwafugha Cooperative management committee and agreed that a chilling tank and a generator are top priority,” Mwashako said.
The legislator asked farmers to support their cooperative society and increase delivered volumes to benefit from economies of scale.
