The country’s dairy industry is facing numerous challenges that impact its growth, sustainability, and competitiveness.
Currently, the cost of animal feeds making raw materials poses the main challenge to farmers with stakeholders calling on the government to address the same.
Thus, dairy farmers are urging the government to consider zero rating animal feeds making raw materials in order to keep the sector afloat.
The management of the giant Githunguri Dairy Farmers Co-operative Society feels that unless urgent measures to contain the spiralling cost of animal feeds, thousands of farmers in the country are likely to be shoved off from the industry.
“80% of animal feeds making raw materials are imported with the resultant effect bring the high cost of feeds which most farmers can hardly afford.We call upon the government to either waive or reduce taxes of the same in order to safe the sector,” said the board chairman John Mungai.
He spoke on Tuesday, December 02,2025 at the facility’s model farm in Githunguri during the handing over of 19 electric motorbikes donated by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in partnership with Tetra Pak with the funding from the Swedish government.
The motorbikes will go a long way in strengthening dairy farming extension services with UNIDO national projects cordinator Maina Karuiru saying that extension officers will now reach farmers efficiently thereby increasing milk production.
“Equipping extension officers with clean and efficient transport solutions will enable them to reach farmers and offer better services, ultimately improving livelihoods and strengthening the dairy ecosystem,” he said.
Githunguri Dairy Farmers Co-operative Society is the largest and best managed dairy facility in the East and Central Africa.
The chairman says that the society’s strategic focus is and has always been enhancing revenue growth whilst maintaining growth and advised other dairy societies across the country to follow suit in order to remain afloat despite the hard economic and market conditions.
“In addition to the business risks discussed above, we are exposed to a number of other risks including credit risk,cash flow, foreign currency and liquidity risks,” he said.
However, he optimistically says that players in the industry are in a position to turn around the hurdles it is facing by embracing value addition.
“Despite all the challenges the dairy sector is encountering, players should embrace value addition of their product in order to generate extra income,” he advised.
Our own research on the challenges facing the dairy industry in Kenya established that climate change with droughts, erratic rainfall, and rising temperatures affecting fodder production, leading to feed shortages and lower milk yields.
Economic challenges are also a factor with fluctuating milk prices, high production costs, and limited access to credit hinder farmers’ ability to invest in their farms.
At the same time, we established that poor roads, inadequate road infrastructure, and limited access to modern farming technology increases milk spoilage and reduce farmers’ incomes.
“Livestock diseases such as mastitis, foot-and-mouth disease, and poor breeding practices compromise animal health and productivity,” Felix Njenga, a farmer from Turitu.
Though Githunguri Dairy Farmers Co-operative whose dairy brand is Fresha enjoys a steady and uninterrupted milk, hundreds of other facilities encounter limited market access, inconsistent milk supply, and lack of value addition opportunities affect farmers’ incomes and industry competitiveness.
Farmers’ limited knowledge and skills in modern dairy farming practices, business management, and market trends also hinders the dairy industry growth.
The sector which if well organised and managed can be an employer to millions of Kenyans is also dogged by inconsistent policy enforcement, inadequate guidance for small-scale farmers, and lack of support for sustainable practices.
These challenges among others result in low milk yields, affecting the country’s ability to meet domestic demand industry’s inability to meet domestic demand contributes to food insecurity and reliance on imports. The industry’s challenges leads to significant economic losses for farmers, processors, and the broader economy.
