President William Ruto has announced plans to decentralise the New Kenya Co-operative Creameries (New KCC) and hand dairy farmers greater ownership and control of its factories.
He also pledged to raise the price farmers are paid for milk to Sh65 per litre as part of reforms aimed at turning the state-owned processor into a profitable business.
Speaking in Kapsabet, Nandi County, on Sunday, October 18, 2026, during the launch of development projects in the county, the President said the government would also clear about Sh400 million owed to dairy farmers by the end of October. He said the changes would give producers better returns and let them benefit directly from how their factories perform.
Under the plan, each of New KCC’s eight factories across the country will run independently, managing its own production and supplying milk directly to nearby markets instead of routing it through Nairobi. “We want New KCC factories to be autonomous and owned by farmers in their jurisdiction as we plan to inject capital to sustain their operations,” Dr Ruto said.
He said local ownership and autonomy would improve efficiency, speed up payments and boost profitability. “We don’t want a situation where the New KCC factory in Eldoret is managed from Nairobi. The farmers should be allowed to own their factories, get better payments and earn dividends.” He added: “The issue of transporting all the milk from one single place to the rest of the country will now come to an end.”
The President said the reforms would borrow from the tea, coffee and sugar sectors, which his administration says have been transformed into more vibrant subsectors where farmers earn better returns. The dairy model is expected to follow the decentralised structure of the Kenya Tea Development Agency.
The Government has injected Sh8 billion into New KCC over the past three years to stabilise its operations. The announcement also comes as a milk shortage has hit major towns, including Nairobi, where retailers have rationed sales and retail prices have risen by about 6 per cent, as drought, poor pasture and the high cost of animal feed weigh on production. Dr Ruto directed the State Department for Livestock to explore improved camel and water buffalo breeds to increase milk supply.
The President also announced plans to upgrade the Eldoret-Kapsabet-Chavakali road into a dual carriageway to ease congestion and speed up the movement of goods and services. “As we construct roads in other parts of the country, we don’t want Kapsabet to be left behind. That’s why we are making the Eldoret-Kapsabet-Chavakali road a dual carriageway to ease the transport of goods and services,” he said.
He announced the release of Sh21 billion for roads, including Sh1.3 billion for the Yala-Chepkumia-Kobujoi road, and said the Road Maintenance Levy would be used to improve roads across the country fairly. “We are going to utilise the Road Maintenance Levy to fix infrastructure countrywide in the spirit of equity and distribution of resources. That’s what we mean when we say Usawa ni sawa,” he said.
On health, Dr Ruto pledged Sh500 million towards building a level five hospital in Kapsabet, part of a plan to set up level five facilities in every county. He cautioned counties against diverting Social Health Authority (SHA) funds to infrastructure projects, saying the money should go to medicines and other health services. He said 630,000 Nandi residents had registered with SHA and that his administration remained committed to making healthcare more accessible and affordable.
On education, the President said Koitalel Samoei University College, a constituent college of the University of Nairobi, would receive its university charter in February 2027, allowing it to become a fully fledged university. The Government has set aside about Sh3.5 billion for infrastructure at the institution in Nandi Hills.
He also pledged to complete Kipchoge Stadium in Kapsabet and equip it with a gymnasium and modern athletics training facilities. “Nandi, being the source of champions, has done us proud by producing athletes who have won medals globally, including the likes of Eliud Kipchoge. We want them to have modern training facilities,” he said.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who attended the event, predicted that President Ruto would win re-election by a wide margin in 2027. National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah said the Mount Kenya region had benefited from the President’s development programmes and would support his re-election.
