Dairy farmers from the Rift Valley want milk producers to own 85 per cent of the New Kenya Co-operative Creameries (KCC) once it is privatised.
More than seventy farmer society representatives drawn from the north and south Rift regions maintained that there was need for farmers to claim the biggest percentage in the processor.
In an occasion held at the Eldoret KCC grounds over the weekend, Uasin Gishu County governor Jackson Mandago said farmers were set to take the biggest control of the dairy firm.
“These farmers are big shareholders in the company and by all means they deserve the biggest percentage so that they can formulate legislations that will best cater for them,” said Mr Mandago.
He called on county leaders to secure the said percentage so that revenue and better living standards are continually realised in milk producing counties.
“We should advise our farmers to establish societies to raise money to buy the cooperative,” added Mr Mandago.
Dairy farmers defended the move to seek majority ownership saying the firm was rightfully theirs and they would technically be taking it back.
Farmer initiative
Eldoret Dairy Farmers Association chairman Nicholas Kositany maintained that the cooperative was a farmers’ initiative and should it be traded off, then farmers should get the biggest slice in ownership.
“Farmers joined and started the cooperative society by being deducted for levy fund that would be spent on establishment. The privatisation exercise should be done in a way that would be just for the founders, the farmers,” said Mr Kositany.
“The advantages of this percentage,” he furthered, “would lead to more farmers taking up dairy farming. These farmers are able to elect their leaders and managers,” said Mr Kositany.
According to the agreement reached at during the convention, farmers would be entitled to 85 per cent of KCC, the government would take up 10 percent while then remaining five per cent can be taken up by staff.
Even so, the farmers said the percentage would be paid in small amounts until it was fully settled.
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