More than 300 Gatundu milk farmers with the support of area legislators and well-wishers managed to buy a cooling plant.
The Gatundu Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society chairman Wilson Kamau addressed the media on Wednesday, saying that the society produced slightly above 550 litres per day and had a huge potential since it was currently the only active dairy cooperative in Gatundu.
Milk farmers will now have an easier way of ferrying and selling their products in the market. The milk will be collected from the farmers in a truck provided by the Brookside Company which is also the milk farmers’ sole buyer.
“Our only challenge has been finding a means to reach the market with our product. We have very potential farmers who can produce more than 100 litres per day but due to the market problems they fail to work on their animals,” Kamau said.
He said that the new truck would go a long way in attracting new membership for the society as farmers will now have an easier time transporting their milk to the market.
Kamau said the cooperative had entered into a partnership with Brookside on 20th January, an undertaking that would help the society address the fluctuating milk prices problems in the area.
He said that farmers in the region had for a long time been frustrated by the lack of market for their milk which had often led to huge losses.
The official also appealed to the county government to consider providing them with other necessary facilities to enable them to deliver as expected.