Cool Moves For Hot Profits, Government Launches Milk Cooler Drive To Transform Dairy Sector

Sh1.45 Billion Investment To Improve Milk Quality, Increase Exports, And Create 500,000 Jobs

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has officially kicked off a nationwide rollout of bulk milk coolers worth Sh1.45 billion in a strategic move to transform Kenya’s dairy sector. With a total of 230 coolers set to be distributed across 40 counties, the initiative is already taking shape, offering a lifeline to smallholder dairy farmers.

Unveiled by H.E President William Ruto in Meru County and spearheaded by Agriculture CS Sen. Mutahi Kagwe, this ambitious project is designed to slash post-harvest milk losses, improve milk quality, and ramp up value addition, all while boosting farmers’ incomes and strengthening Kenya’s milk marketability both locally and globally.

“This is more than just handing out milk coolers,” said CS Kagwe during the flag-off event in Nyeri. “It’s a bold investment in the livelihoods of over two million Kenyans who depend on dairy farming. These coolers will add 475,000 litres to our national milk chilling capacity every single day.”

In 2024, Kenya produced an estimated 5.3 billion litres of milk, with smallholder farmers accounting for 80%. However, the country loses 6% of marketed milk annually, around 175 million litres worth Sh7.9 billion, due to post-harvest losses. This initiative directly addresses that gap, aligning with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, which seeks to double milk production to 10 billion litres by 2027, create 500,000 jobs, and export at least 1 billion litres of milk annually.

The coolers are being distributed under the Livestock Value Chain Support Project, which aims to transition smallholder farmers from subsistence to commercial dairy farming by improving infrastructure and supporting access to markets.

But the coolers are just the beginning. The government is planning large-scale leasing of public land to grow fodder and sunflowers to lower feed costs, alongside mass vaccinations and the promotion of quality breeding stocks. These comprehensive interventions are designed to position Kenya as a powerhouse in global dairy trade.

“This is the moment for transformation,” Kagwe said. “We’re investing in infrastructure, processing, and health to ensure our dairy and meat products meet international standards and bring prosperity to every Kenyan farmer.”

Go Places News