Kenya dairy firms bet on regional integration to grow market

Dairy firms in Kenya are betting on deepening regional economic integration to ease border rules for exchange of new technologies in a bid to boost their expansion bid.

Stakeholders said the drop in the number of barriers to trade is opening fresh opportunities for countries in the region to not only increase trade in raw and processed milk but also share technologies that have lifted the national dairy industry.

“In Kenya, we have always performed well but deepening regional integration will address perennial supply fluctuations and raise our external competitiveness,” said Dr Daniel Langat, the New KCC managing director.

In Kenya, a lot of milk goes to waste during the rainy season due to lack of proper storage facilities only for prices to rise during dry seasons.

For instance, prices of processed fresh milk rose by 50 per cent last month to Sh45 per 500ml packet due to the recent dry spell.

“To stabilise supply for this industry we need simple technologies that can boost milk conservation at farm levels during seasons of plenty and those that can convert excess milk to powder for use during dry seasons,” said Dr Langat who is the chairman of the Eastern and Southern African Dairy Association (Esada).

The organisation brings together key players in the dairy industry from 32 countries of eastern and southern Africa.

Individual countries have different (donor-funded) technologies for breeding, milking, storage, processing, and marketing which they have been unable to share in the past due to restrictions at border points.

In Kenya, for instance, the World Bank is investing in a Sh6.5 billion centre of excellence to boost dairy productivity among smallholder farmers.

The 12-year programme, based in Naivasha, is expected to generate research and innovations that will lift dairy sectors across eastern Africa once member states fully open their borders for transfer of technology.

Kenya has institutions such as Kenya Veterinary Vaccine Production Institute, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, and Kenya Animal Genetic Centres whose innovations it has sought to sell in the region.

“We have all the answers and appropriate technology that we need to lift Africa’s dairy sector here within the continent,” Ms Elizabeth Blintiff, the vice president of US-based Heifer Project International in charge of African programmes told Esada’s eighth conference and exhibition.

The region produces about 12 million tonnes of milk per year against an annual demand of 14 million tonnes. Industry projection puts growth in demand for milk at 3.5 per cent per year up to 2020.

President Kibaki, who presided over the official opening of the three-day forum, which began in Nairobi on Wednesday, said milk production in Africa was predominantly in the hands of small-scale farmers.