West Pokot farmers rake in Sh330 million from milk sales

General Manager Brookside John Gethi during prize awards ceremony for the first draw of 'Shinda Na Maziwa Promotion' at Nicoll Club in Ruiru on tuesday, February 24th, 2915. PHOTO/JONAH ONYANGO.

West Pokot County dairy farmers’ earnings from the sale of raw milk to processor Brookside last year rose by 10 per cent to Sh330 million.

The processor attributed the rise in earnings to commercialisation of dairy farming in the higher altitude areas of the county like Pokot South.

Brookside Director of Milk Procurement John Gethi said farmers in the area had formed dairy groups to enable them enjoy economies of scale in raw milk bulk buying and transportation to the processor’s cooling centres in the area.

“The existence of a number of dairy co-operative societies and self-help groups in West Pokot has played a role in the growth of raw milk volumes procured from the county,” said Mr Gethi during a tour of the processor’s milk collection facilities in the area at the weekend.

FINANCIAL VIABILITY

“Previously, most of the milk in West Pokot was used for subsistence purposes, but we are seeing a trend where an increasing number of farmers are opting to sell their milk to us, as a way of guaranteeing regular family income.” 

Brookside, which is the only processor that collects milk in the area, has supported local dairy co-operatives by supplying and installing milk cooling equipment in Lelan, Tapach and Kaptalamwa areas as it seeks to help farmers to grow production.

“As a main market for farmers’ milk, our interventions in West Pokot County include working with raw milk suppliers to increase financial viability of smallholder farms along the value chain. We are also constantly reminding farmers to increase the production volume of each cow kept as one way of increasing earnings,” said Mr Gethi.

He at the same time emphasised the need for investment in feed preparation and preservation, saying it was important in addressing the challenge of seasonality of milk production, where supply often falls during the dry season.

Mr Gethi said Brookside would train farmers in the area on livestock disease identification and management as a measure to sustaining milk production.

He said common livestock diseases were affecting optimal production of milk, especially on smallholder farms.