500 Million Shillings Injected into the Revival of the New KCC

By Amina Faki

The government is set to pump 500 million shillings into the revival of the New KCC which has been struggling to remain afloat.

Collapsed in 1999, due to numerous unpaid debts, the newly revived milk factory comes in as a relief for dairy farmers and Kenya at large; better returns for the farmers and constant quality milk supply in the country.

Milk production is a crucial source of income for more than two million households across Kenya and milk is a significant contributor to the nutrition and health of the entire population. Dairy farming provides substantial opportunities for many smallholders in the country.

Kenya currently suffers deficits in milk and dairy products, especially in years of drought. According to USAID-Kaves dairy value chain analysis, the country produced 4.8 billion liters of milk in 2012, with 75 percent coming from cattle and the rest from camels and goats. The dairy sector is characterized by low-input, low-yield systems that produce below the national herd potential.

Farmers in the county will largely benefit with high as the milk that used to go to waste before will now be put into constructive products as the factory has the capacity to convert milk into powder and later on reconstitute it.

The President promised the farmers a promising future; he said he will zero rate all milk products and also lay off import duties on the yellow maize that’s used for making animal feed.

This comes as a relief to many as the Head of State took such a step amid the milk deficit that the country currently faces that has led to high milk prices and that of the general food basket.

“ This factory pays farmers 5 billion shillings annually as opposed to 2 billion shillings it was paying in 2013,” said Deputy President William Ruto said. He added that the factory will ensure that the supply of milk in the country will remain constant hence stabilizing milk prices.

Mr. Adan Mohamed, the Cabinet Secretary for Industry, Trade, and Cooperatives said that the factory is the flagship of New KCC and also holds the destination of being the biggest and most modern of its kind in East and Central Africa.