• Kabaki said the farmers were rewarded for meeting agreed milk supply targets in quantity and quality.
• The farmer reward scheme was pioneered by Brookside six years ago.
Image: HANDOUT
Farmers contracted by Brookside Dairy have a reason to smile after the processor announced a cash reward payout of Sh218 million.
The amount will benefit dairy groups and individual farmers across the country that signed up for the programme and have been supplying raw milk to Brookside between December 1, 2023 and May 31 this year.
The half-year payout, under a reward scheme operated by the firm, represents a 53.5 per cent increase from last year’s payout, during a similar period.
Brookside general manager for milk procurement Emmanuel Kabaki said the farmers were rewarded for meeting agreed milk supply targets in quantity and quality.
“The beneficiary farmer groups and individual suppliers signed up for our reward scheme and were given raw milk supply targets, for both quantity and quality. We are rewarding these farmers as a recognition of their hard work over the six-month period,” he said in a statement.
The farmer reward scheme was pioneered by Brookside six years ago as it sought to appreciate the critical role raw milk suppliers play in the upstream phase of the dairy value chain.
The payout has been appreciating over the years, as the processor’s base of contracted farmers continues to expand.
“The reward further cements our excellent working relationship with all our 160,000 raw milk suppliers across the country. It has boosted the supply of high-quality milk, thus enabling us to tap into a larger share of high-value products,” Kabaki said.
Brookside has been carrying out training programmes for its farmers across key raw milk production sheds, as it seeks to grow the volumes supplied to it.
This year, more than 3,000 dairy farmers have benefited from Brookside’s extension services. They include field day trainings and the use of demonstration farms to showcase best practice in the dairy enterprise.
“We are also strengthening the dairy supply chain through adoption of environmentally friendly technologies that promote sustainable milk production across the country. Sustainable agronomic practices in dairy, such as adoption of agroforestry and use of biogas as a clean energy source, work towards reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” Kabaki said.
“We have recruited extension service officers to train farmers on fodder establishment. We have also distributed 65,000 cuttings of super napier fodder to more than 1,000 farmers for establishment on the farms.”
In December last year, farmers contracted by the processor received Sh182 million in reward bonuses for milk delivered between June and November.
Over time, the volumes and quality of milk supplied to the processor have continually grown.
Last year, Brookside spent more than Sh30 million in farmer extension services, according to Kabaki.
The current national milk consumption is 120 litres per person per year, making Kenya the leader in Africa.