By Dennis Bett.
Elgeyo Marakwet County Government of has moved in to restore milk prices and volume after a drop by 90 per cent, leading to skyrocketing of prices to as high Sh80 per liter of fresh milk.
Milk retailed at Sh40 per litre in November last year before the prices doubled from March this year in most areas of the county.
In a bid to boost milk production, a milk processing factory will be opened in Chepkorio, Keiyo South after the local farmers increased production from an average of four liters to eight liters before the drought set in.
County Governor Alex Tolgos (pictured) speaking to Sacco Review in Iten recently said during a meeting in Iten town that his Government will continue educating farmers on better animal husbandry so that the milk prices are kept constant hence improving farmers’ livelihoods.
Meanwhile, Agricultural Sector Development Support County coordinator, Leonard Kubok has attributed the low production to acute shortage of animal feeds and water in the county that produces 40 million litres of milk.
“Milk production contributes significantly to Sh1.4 billion Gross Domestic Product growth in the county with 20,000 farmers being involved in dairy farming,” he noted.
“Measures to improve breeding through Artificial Insemination services has contributed to improvements in the sector. We currently have more than 65,000 exotic breeds,” he added.
“Agriculture officials are currently educating farmers on water harvesting and animal feed stocking to mitigate effects of climate change,” he said.
