CURRENT REALITY of Dairy Farming in Kenya
Calculated at international prices, cow milk is the most significant agricultural commodity for Kenya. (FAOSTAT)
The formal Dairy Farming in Kenya industry is now the fastest growing agricultural sub-sector in Kenya.
There are over thirty registered Dairy Farming in Kenya processors in the country, but four large processors dominate the industry.
- Brookside – 39% - East Africa leading dairy. With fully fledged operations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Brookside Dairy has the largest farmers’ network, milk collection and storage capacity in the region.
- New KCC – 31 % – processing and marketing milk and milk products. such as fresh milk, cheese, long life milk both flavored and unflavored, fermented milk both flavored and unflavored, yogurt, ghee and powdered milk both whole and skimmed variants.
- SpinKnit – 13% – was founded in 1996 after the liberalization of the dairy sector.. The company started as a mini dairy processing plant in Nakuru with a distribution fleet of 3 vehicles. The fleet has now grown rapidly, to over 150 vehicles at the current production site in Nairobi’s Industrial Area.
- Githunguru – 9% – was registered in August 1961 with a membership of 31. The society started with one collection center, which have increased to 58 fully computerized to date. Currently the cooperative has grown tremendously to 17,000 registered members, annual turn over of Kshs 3 billion and an average of 170,000 liters of milk per day.
These four account for over 92% of the formal market. This group of three is constantly looking for new milk sources to fill processing plants to capacity; capacity utilization in the industry is at a low 40%.
In the informal Dairy Farming in Kenya market:
- 70-80% of milk production comes from smallholders of which there is an estimated 1 million households producing milk.
- Most of the dairy production is concentrated in Rift Valley and Central Province. 53% of dairy cattle is found in Rift Valley and 25% in Central Province.
- Due to low usage of commercial feeds and high reliability on available grass, the production is highly dependent on weather.
Dairy Farming in Kenya
My Story
I reside near Nyahururu town LAIKIPIA DISTRICT, Kenya, East Africa. I am a proud dDairy Farming in Kenya. I have 5 dairy cows (4 Friesians and 1 Ayreshire), 2 Heifers that have been served and three young calves (about 10 months old). I have three and a half acres of land where I graze as well as grow fodder for the dairy cows.
I have mixed system of farming or integrated farming whereby being a dairy farmer I also practice fish farming, poultry farming, sell fodder (hay) and grow subsistence crops. These farm enterprises make my overall operations more efficient and profitable. This comes about by sharing space, inputs, byproducts and labor.
However, dairy farming is my major source of income. Below are areas and activities in my dairy farm:
- Overview – Dairy Farming in Kenya
- Feeding
- Production
- Management, Insemination, De-worming, and Sales
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i am a small scale farmerat nyahururu and i would like to know more about dairy farming
Hi Mr Gichuki,
Kindly, what exactly would you like to know, is it on feeds, breeding, milk production, structures? Please specify and I will be happy to send you the details.
Join other farmers to minimize feed costs :www.formulationgoods.kbo.co.ke
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i would like to be a dairy farmer. i have picked kangundo as my base. i intend to start by buying 2 acres of land. n 2 cows. how much should i be seeking to have as my capital. and how does growth progress? can i start enjoying profits 6 months into the start of business
Virginia,
Dairy farming is a great venture and it is good you want to go into it. You can buy the two acres but in my view, land even as small as a 1/4 acre will be sufficient even for 10 cows if well managed. I would rather you go for an acre and the money for the other acre you put into heifers or mature cows. You can also visit dairy farmers like myself and you will have a fill of the business and also get important tips before you decide about it.
That will be fine and you can liase with other such farmers. My email is ngaruiyantutu@yahoo.com if you decide to come see my farm.
hae andrew…..i must say am fortunate to see this link….am planning to start dairy farming in nyeri….but i have absolutely no idea whea to start.but am passionate about this and i think thats a good start..am based in nairobi,i would appreciate knowing u more and maybe visit ur farm for knowledge b4 i can embark on anything….maybe i could get ur contact,my email is tonystepps@yahoo.com…..thanks alot
Thanks a lot for that encouragement.I am very interested of starting keeping(5cows)25ltre in nakuru and I don’t know where I can get the cows.I have finished preparing the house and planting the feeds.may you please give me an advice.Email jameskku@yahoo.com
Jambo Virginia,
I would like further details to let you know how much you might need as capital. But it is possible to start enjoying profit after 6 months. Details like the cost of land, how much would like to buy each cow and so on……..
I reside in S.Africa whereby dairyfarming is more highly more in large scale ,i would like to know if i can start a dairy farming kenya starting with ten dairy cows how much i can earn a months,and how big size of land i require.i,m planning to start with $ 20 000.isn,t enough capital to start with ten fresians cows
Hi Simoo
Am a Kenyan dairy farmer. Dairy farming has a promising future here in Kenya. With 10 good dairy cows, you would expect approximately $3,841 per month and on a 3 acre of land. From my experience I would think $ 25 000 would be enough but again this depends on your location in Kenya as prices of land will be different. If you need further details, kindly get in touch.
I wish to start a dairy farming how much is the price of Frisian cow and between frisian and jersey cow which one has more milk production than the other please help urgently.my email is antobunga85@yahoo.com
Hi Mr Obunga
Welcome to Dairy Farming. Dairy farming has a promising future. Friesian cow is currently the highest producing dairy cow. Jersey and Guernsey produce less milk but has the highest butter (fat) content. The price of a good friesian cow will depend on its age, production and number of lactations. Price range maybe between Kshs 100,000 to Ksh 150,000.
I would like to start dairy farming in matungulu district, i want to buy 1 acre of land & 2 friesian cows, how much capital do i need to start with.
Hi Julian,
Welcome to dairy farming. Sorry I don’t know where Matungulu District is but all the same kindly let me know how much acre of land would cost there. A good friesian cow producing over 25 litres per day would cost between Kshs 100,000 to Kshs 170,000. Kindly let me know whether you have any structures already, any store feeds and so on. I wish you all the best and good luck in dairy farming.
i would like to venture into Dairy farming,where can i get full information regarding to structure and all the requirements needed prior kick starting the business? kindly assist
Hi Liz,am a dairy farmer in Nkr,b4 u start farming pls note u shld have enough feeds n water 2 run u 4 aleast 4-6 months. Structures r good bt their shld come in the 4th stage,feeds n water r the most vital things tht 1 shld ve.
I salute all dairy farmers,am a youth looking for heifers or first time calved cows,incase you’ve kindly E-mail me. Thank you in advance.
Am looking to start rearing cows in Nyanza province,around AHero area which is relatively dry how viable do you think this is?
Good work,hard work pays
HI thanks alot for what you are doing.I would like to know the average cost of dairy cow that can give me an average of 40 litres per day(20 in the morning and 20 in the evening)
Am a young kenyan in my mid 20′s..dairy farming is always my passion,i plan 2 get a start with high producing dairy cows@ 40ltrs/day..plis advice
Hi Francis Njenga,
Can i get your contacts so we can have a more detailed discussion about dairy farming? I am currently doing a business plan and could use a lot of assistance.
Regards,
Sylvia.
thanks guys for the goodwork.am starting dairy farming in meru on a two and half acres of land this month .i waould like to know more about taking care of the cows since all other things are in place
Dear current and prospective dairy farmers. I’m writing I would like to commence dairy farming with about 10 to 20 cows on a 10 acre piece of land. My problem or concern is how to transport the milk to the nearest processing center, getting vets and other basic needs for the animal. Let me know how to go about it. You can email me your mobile number for me to call you. Thanks
I live in naks and I have an idea of starting to keep dairy cow.I have already constructed the house, store,planted maize for 2arce,soughrm for 1acre.I would like to buy(5)cow that each produces 25ltr per day and 2 heiffer.how much do I surpose to have cuz I would like to start by the end of this month.