The growth of the dairy industry in Kiambu sub-county has greatly benefited farmers, with most of them registering high rates of income from the business.
Suzanne Wanjiru, Mamboleo Dairy Women Group chairlady says the industry’s progress was a major boost in their growth as they look to grow more and venture into other dairy businesses.
According to Wanjiru, the dairy business has been a platform to end their financial constraints as they were getting good returns from the venture.
“The dairy sector is growing fast due to the high demand of the commodity in the market. Therefore, as a group, we are working on increasing the number of cows from the current eight to 20 because the price of milk is steadily rising,” she said.
Currently, the group earns a record of Sh8,000 daily from the sale of 200 litres of milk and hope to expand their business by producing 600 litres of milk daily next year.
She further noted that their group was formed with an aim of boosting their economic status and urged other women within Kiambu to come up with such constructive groups and engage in economic activities to generate income for their families.
Wanjiru further revealed that they are in the process of applying for a loan from Uwezo Fund in order to enlarge their enterprise.
“Due to the demand of milk in the urban centres, we are in the process of applying for a loan to help increase milk production to be sold to consumers,” she said.
She finally urged the county government to allocate more funds in the women kitty to benefit more women in Kiambu SubCounty.
Kiambu Agricultural Officer Jane Muigai encouraged the women to expand their operations so that others would come up in the area and emulate what they were doing on their fragmented plots.