Nyandarua dairy farmers want law to address costs

Nyandarua dairy farmers have called for changes in the draft dairy regulations fronted by the Kenya Daily Board, saying the bill in its current state is unfriendly to farmers and is favouring processors and marketers.

During a public participation forum organised by the Dairy Regulation Task Force, Andrew Macharia from Mirangi Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society, faulted the bill’s focus on marketing instead of production at the farm and challenges facing farmers.

“It does not talk about the cost of production, concentrates, and supplements. They need to understand that without the farmer, the dairy sector can't survive. We need to see the document clearly state how the farmers are benefiting from the proposed law,” said Mr Macharia.

He also opposed registration of dairy farmers either by the board or the county government, saying it is not practical and the motive behind it is not clear.

“Does it mean that other bodies will also come up in future to register beans, cassava and spinach growers? We can’t see how this registration is going to help farmers… they can access the information they need through cooperative societies, farmer groups and farmer-owned companies instead of bothering us,” said Mr Wachira.

Ol Kalou Dairy 2016 chairperson Isaac Muchiri said the law should also zero-rate production and sales of animal feeds and supplements to reduce the cost of production, while the KDB and the government should invest more on farmer capacity-building, with clear statement on a minimum percentage a farmer should get from milk sales.

Muhika Mutahi, representing the task force, and who chaired the forum said the current dairy regulations are outdated and need to be amended to meet the modern farmer’s and milk industry expectations.

He said initial findings from the public participation forum are that the farmer has been getting a raw deal while the processors and retailers earn maximum returns and the solution lies in a guaranteed milk price for farmers.

“Farmers throughout the country have given their views on how they wish to see the prices calculated to have the minimum returns; we are going to reconcile the figures and get a way forward,” said Mr Mutahi.