During the Agricultural Society of Kenya Eldoret National Show in March, dairy cows from Eldoret National Polytechnic in Uasin Gishu County were on display. The high cost of feed is a significant component in this transaction.
Dairy producers face losses of up to 16 percent, according to a recent report by the Kenya Dairy Board (KDB), which throws new light on the issues affecting the dairy industry, notably the high cost of feeds.
The research was carried out on a micro-commercial farm with seven dairy cattle, four of which were lactating, under the assumption of optimum nutrition for the cow and strict adherence to prescribed protocols.
The farm made Sh1.33 million in sales every year, with milk sales accounting for Sh1.02 million and cattle sales accounting for Sh310,000. However, overall expenses reached Sh1.54 million within the same time period, representing a 16 percent loss.
The Brookside Dairy’s
This implies that the farm lost Sh210,918, which translates as Sh17,576 in monthly losses.
“If the farmer doesn’t sell any livestock, the loss rises to Sh520,918 for the year, indicating how unsustainable dairy farming has become for smallholders under the current situation where the cost of feeds is high,” according to the report.
The results were included in the Kenya Dairy Industry Sustainability Map 2023-2032, which KDB unveiled in Nairobi on Friday.
The high cost of feeds, which accounted for Sh1.31 million, or 84.8 percent of overall farm expenditures, was a major source of concern for the model farm. Labor and breeding expenses were the second and third highest expenditures, accounting for 6.2 percent and 2.6 percent of total costs, respectively.
“Many farmers will abandon dairy farming if nothing is done.” This will exacerbate the already precarious milk supply situation,” it warned.
Kenya has had production issues in meeting demand owing to droughts that have deteriorated in recent years, reducing fodder production, as well as rising costs for other dairy inputs. This scarcity has resulted in an increase in milk imports, particularly from Uganda.
Kenya’s dairy industry is expected to account for 14% of the country’s agricultural GDP. Smallholder farmers provide the majority of Kenya’s milk, accounting for 56% of total production.
The difficulty of dairy farmers drove KDB to develop the Kenya Dairy Farming National Commercialisation Model, which ensures that commercial farmers provide the majority of the country’s milk demand.
Commercial farmers, according to the model, would use climate-proof production methods to drastically decrease supply variations caused by climate change, such as droughts.
“This will be achieved through irrigated fodder production and conservation to guarantee proper feeding of dairy cattle regardless of the prevailing climatic conditions,” the board added.
Kenya has the greatest per capita milk consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa, with 110 liters consumed per person. The present yearly consumption of eight billion litres is likely to rise as the population grows.
