Farmers have been urged to venture into dairy farming to satisfy the increasing demand for milk in the country.
Speaking on Tuesday in Eldoret town, the Principal Secretary in the ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Professor Fred Sigor said the country’s milk consumption is higher than what is produced.
“An estimated 5.2 billion litres of milk are produced while eight billion litres are consumed leaving a deficit of 2.8 billion litres. Due to the increasing demand for milk both regionally and internationally, dairy farmers will get a lot of money compared to maize and wheat farming” he said
He reiterated that although farmers have been working hard, they have faced challenges such as inadequate capital, climatic changes and inadequate seeds. He noted that the national government has come up with measures to assist them.
“The government has embarked on preventive measures in addressing the issues such as promoting farmers by use of new technology, value addition and marketing for their produce,” he said.
The National government will build four liquid nitrogen plants in Eldoret, Meru, Nyahururu and Kabete that will make semen affordable to farmers. It will also cater for the increasing demand of semen in the region.
“Annually, 600,000 doses of semen are produced compared to the increasing demand of 1million doses in the market. Thus the construction of the four liquid plants will cater for the increasing demand,” Mr Sigor said.
He urged Farmers to make use of the Artificial Insemination (AI) that is readily available to improve their productivity and also put in use the milk cooling system to avoid wastage.
He challenged farmers to join cooperative societies that will enhance their bargaining power while purchasing farm inputs.