Kirinyaga: The New Kenya Co-operative Creameries (KCC) will buy 65,000 litres of milk daily from Kirima Dairy Cooperative Society in Kirinyaga County. This brings a sigh of relief for the society that serves over 6,000 dairy farmers to avert losses which farmers have incurred for the past few weeks.
According to Kenya News Agency, Kirinyaga CEC Member for Cooperatives and Trade Calbert Njeru, who spoke to the media after meeting representatives from Kirima Dairy Board and New KCC, revealed that New KCC has agreed to take up 65,000 litres of milk daily from the cooperative. The milk processor had reduced the amount of litres from 45,000 liters of milk to 25,000 daily, a move that has left farmers with nowhere to sell their milk.
Njeru noted that the crisis has been there and farmers have suffered due to the issue of the off-taking of milk leading to some wastage but they have agreed on the way forward to address the matter. Among the recommendations is for the New KCC to upgrade their off-take timelines to give room for incoming milk haulers to deliver the product from the farmers. "We have agreed that from today, they shall be taking on the minimum 65,000 liters daily to address the backlog that was there because of our storage capacity capabilities of our cooler equipment," Njeru said.
The CEC assured the farmers that, going by what was agreed, all challenges will be addressed in the next few days as the county government continues with the other logistical operations and paperwork that are necessary to make sure that there is no repetition in the future of milk wastage.
Managing Director of Kirima Cooperative Society Wachira Chomba said the challenge with logistics for the dispatch of milk resulted in a few liters of milk going to waste. While apologizing to the farmers, he noted the normal supplies will resume, thanking the New KCC and county government for the timely intervention. "With New KCC collecting 65,000 liters a day, our situation will be back to normal as soon as possible, and we hope no other liter will be lost," he said.
Chomba assured the general public that the few litres lost would be covered by other volumes. "We assure the general public that the losses will be there, yes, but minimal, and we are trying to work around the clock. The little coins we make from the processed milk will safeguard the farmers from the losses," Chomba added.
The cooperative is currently working on their own processing line, value addition, and branding to expand the market. James Njogu, a dairy farmer, said the meeting has solved the crisis and expected everything to resume normally despite the minimal losses.