The Uasin Gishu County Executive in charge of Roads, Transport, Energy and Public works Eng. Gideon Birir on Wednesday embarked on a thorough inspection of completed Cooler structures in the county.
The inspection of both interior and exterior of the property is to determine its condition and compliance with regulations for a milk cooler structure. At Singalo FCS Tarakwa Ward Kesses Sub County the work was 99% done."I am very impressed with the work done by this contractor who has seen the work completed at a good time. The cooler tanks are already in the country and at least top 10 of completed structures will soon receive the cooler tanks." Eng. Birir said.Uasin Gishu County was allocated the highest number of coolers at 46 by the National Government and the county has put up the 46 structures in readiness to receive the coolers.Eng. Birir also urged the Farmers’ Cooperative Societies (FCS) to join the UGDairies to be able to negotiate on milk pricing as a union to the milk processors."In his second term vision of seeing the success of farmers, the Governor Jackson K. Arap Mandago has seen it best that he makes cooperatives a ministry of its own. This is to ensure that farmers can benefit from Cooperatives," he said. The cooperatives department has been allocated close to Shh400 million in this financial year. The FCS was advised to take advantage of this loans and buy fertilizer, make feed mixers, work on value addition and even make agrovets in the FCS to increase their income. The loan is given at a repayment interest of 5% only. The Chief Officer in the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries Dr. Victoria Tarus advised the committee members to ensure that the coolers have milk so as to meet its purpose. "Our core function as a county is to ensure that the farmer gets value for his money. As a department, we have availed affordable A.I, for the improved breed, training of farmers on feeds, disease control and ensured that extension officers reach farmers on time, by providing motorbikes to attend to the farmers needs in good time. This is aimed at ensuring milk production in our county is high," she said.The FCSs were advised to start bulking milk in readiness to receive cooler tanks within a few days.To be the first to get updates on breaking and trending news in Kenya, send your WhatsApp number to 074094990.