The government has attributed the current milk shortage in the country to prolonged drought and unscrupulous brokers diverting milk meant for processing plants.
Speaking during the official opening of the Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) Coast Region show at the Mkomani grounds in Nyali, Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe, said the instability in the dairy sector stems from two main factors: erratic rainfall that has left animals with inadequate pasture, and brokers offering farmers higher prices than cooperatives can match.
“There is a shortage of animal feed in areas where cows normally graze on green pasture. A well-fed cow is not the same as one that isn’t, and therefore there is a reduction in the quantity of milk,” Kagwe explained.
He added that milk meant for processing companies was increasingly ending up with brokers, who pay more than what cooperatives currently offer, a trend he said was starving supermarkets of milk even as villages continued to enjoy ample supply through informal channels.
The CS urged dairy cooperatives to negotiate better prices with processors and pass the benefits directly to farmers to reverse the trend.
On mitigation, Kagwe said the government had authorized duty-free importation of yellow maize to lower the cost of animal feeds and boost their availability, describing the move as a two-pronged solution to both cost and scarcity.
He appealed for patience among Kenyans, noting that the shortage was not unique to the country, as neighbouring Tanzania and Uganda were grappling with similar climate-driven disruptions in their dairy sectors.
Kagwe expressed optimism that the anticipated El Niño rains would replenish pasture within weeks of onset, restoring full milk production.
He said the government was also weighing the importation of powdered milk but was proceeding cautiously to avoid a glut once rains resume and local production rebounds.
“You have to balance those expectations and the predictions we are getting from the Meteorological Department, and handle that in a manner that needs thinking through, not emotional outbursts,” he said, adding that Kenya remains Africa’s leading milk producer with an annual output of 5.5 billion litres.
By Ramadhan Nassib
