An acute shortage of eggs has hit several towns in Nakuru county amid an increase in prices.
Farmers have attributed the high prices to increased chicken feed costs.
The supply of milk to major shops and supermarkets has also been affected by the current drought, as the prices of the two commodities soar.
A survey in various towns including Naivasha, Gilgil, Mai Mahiu, Longonot and Suswa established that many shops had run out of the two commodities while others had introduced rationing.
Farmers are warning of tougher days ahead with prices of farm inputs rising by the day, thus reducing their profit margin.
According to a top poultry farmer in Naivasha, John Wambugu, it had become near impossible to get any profits due to the high cost of chicken feed.
He said prices had increased by over 50 per cent, with the situation worsened by cheap imports from neighboring countries.
“Many of the poultry and dairy farmers have reduced their production due to the high cost of production and we foresee a major crisis in the coming days,” he said.
A trader, Dan King’ori, said they have been rationing their sales for the past one week, so as to meet the demands of all their customers.
“We have recorded a sharp drop in eggs and milk supply and this has pushed the prices up with farmers unable to meet their demand due to the economic challenges,” he said.
Association of Kenya Feed Manufacturers chairman, John Gathogo, said the livestock sector was on its knees due to the current challenges.
He said about fifty percent of manufacturers had closed down, while those in operation had downsised their operations by over 40 percent.
“The biggest challenge lies in the high cost of livestock feeds which has been caused by equally high prices of the raw materials from neighboring countries,” he said.
Speaking after touring some of the dairy farms in Naivasha, Gathogo noted that the only solution is going for the GMO crops like soya and yellow maize.
He said that getting 100 percent non-GMO raw material,as advised by the government, is impossible.
“We are petitioning the government to lift the Cabinet memo of 2012 that banned GMO crops in a bid to save the livestock sector that is on its knees,” he said.
