Why Nakuru's dairy sector is struggling

Nakuru County, long celebrated as Kenya’s dairy powerhouse, is experiencing difficulties within its Sh10 billion milk industry.

Once renowned for providing households with food and supporting local cooperatives, the sector is now struggling under the weight of poor road conditions, high electricity costs and soaring animal feed prices.

For farmers across the county, what was once a reliable source of income is rapidly becoming a daily struggle to survive.

According to Waweru Nyaangi, chairman of the Nakuru County Dairy Platform (NACODA), poor road infrastructure and high electricity costs are the most pressing issues facing farmers.

“Our rural feeder roads are in bad shape. Many times, farmers are unable to access the market in time. When milk takes too long to reach the cooling plants, farmers lose money,” he explains.

Poor roads leave farmers stranded during the rainy season, while vehicles and motorbikes carrying milk frequently break down and require repair, creating a ripple effect that affects the entire value chain.

Speaking at the two-day, first-ever county milk value chain conference and exhibition, the chairman adds that the high cost of power has further strained cooperatives that rely on milk coolers.

“Sometimes, you will find a cooling plant that is simply not being used because the benefits they gain from the cooler is swallowed by electricity bills,” he says, urging investment in renewable energy to support farmers.

“If solarisation is adopted, farmers can preserve milk without fearing high tariffs.”

Beyond these challenges, Nakuru’s farmers, like other farmers across the country, are also struggling with issues affecting the national dairy sector. Mr Nyaangi says that the cost of animal feed has risen sharply due to dependence on imported raw materials.

“We import almost 90 percent of the raw materials we use to make concentrates, which has made production extremely costly,” he explains, adding that a bag of dairy meal now costs between Sh3,000 and Sh3,500 making it difficult for farmers to keep their businesses afloat.

At the same time, milk prices are stagnating or even falling.

“We were at Sh50 per litre, but now it is down to Sh40 and in some cases Sh38,” he says.

"The cost of feeding is going up while the selling price is going down. Farmers cannot sustain this imbalance for long," Mr Nyaangi says.

Nevertheless, he acknowledges that innovations have offered some hope. He highlights silage baling technology as a 'game changer' that enables farmers to transport silage over long distances without it spoiling.

"Today, we can comfortably transport silage from Nakuru to Mombasa or Mandera. This would have been impossible a few years ago,” he says.

Mr Nyaangi also praises mobile phone applications that allow farmers to track milk volumes and calculate expected earnings. 'From my phone, I can now see how many litres I have sold in a day, a week or a month. This level of transparency is encouraging,” he notes.

Regarding milk safety, the chairman says that the various stakeholders' sensitisation campaigns are bearing fruit.
"We have not eliminated the use of plastics, but at least 50 per cent of farmers have transitioned to cans and churns. The only challenge is cost, because the equipment is still too expensive for ordinary farmers," he says.