By Gabriel Cajetan
It is 5.00am in the evening and a wisp of dark clouds are fast approaching, an indication that it’s about to rain. Priscilla Kiptoo hurriedly milks her Freshian cow. As she puts aside a milking can that is almost full, a man riding a bicycle, with two huge cans of milk on the carrier stops by to inquire whether he could buy some milk from her. They speak in low tones then suddenly Kiptoo waves him away.
“I cannot sell my milk at a- throw –away-price.” Says the mother of four who resides in Kipkaren, Nandi County.
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15 years a go, Kiptoo would have had no option but to sell her milk for about Sh10 per litre to whoever would have come her way.
The nearest and the only dairy plant available was the then Kenya Cooperative Creameries in Eldoret town, which is more than 50 Kilometers away from her village. There were no cooling plants in the vicinity and dairy farmers could dispose of their milk cheaply due to lack of storage facilities.
True to the old English adage that attributes innovation to necessity, a group of 143 farmers from Kipkaren region, among them Mrs. Kiptoo came together to seek a workable solution to their challenge. Their collective initiative gave rise to Tanykina dairy company. According to the firm’s manager, TerryAnne Maru, the project was registered in 2003 at a cost of Sh14 million to make it operational. It was jointly funded by the farmers through their share contributions and support from a non-government organization.
“Heifer International through its ‘pass- on -the -gift’ initiative provided the plant with the cooler while the farmers put up the physical infrastructure through their share contributions,” adds Mrs Maru.
At first they delivered merely 553 kilograms of milk to the milk plant. Mrs. Maru says the dairy has metamorphosed from a single cooler to 6 cooling plants with 6800 dairy farmers supplying more than 33,000 litres of milk a day.
The near 10 000 members now earn an average of Sh3000 million annually from 4.4 million litres up from 568,000 litres the plant received in its first year of operation.
To Mrs Kiptoo and other members, the plant has been a blessing and the community at large as it has helped uplift their livelihoods.
“Through this project, I have been able to pay the school fees for my children without any hiccups and we have even formed a group and bought a posho mill that helps us make an extra coin,” she says.
“At the beginning, we faced a lot of challenges especially when KCC collapsed as we were forced to sell milk to hawkers at throw away prices of up to Sh10 a litre, but all that has changed because of Tanykina dairy plant that is buying our milk at good prices”, she adds.
Currently, with the cooling plant in place she worries less on where to take her milk.
“I deliver 10-15 litres of milk daily to the plant. At least there is ready market for my produce”, says the mother of four, who pockets Sh1000 a day from her four cows.
The impact of the cooling plant, located on the foothills of the undulating hills within the county of Nandi is being felt in the neighborhood. It has seen a boon in business with modern business premises springing up at the once sleepy Kipkaren trading centre.
The plant has provided job opportunities to locals in the area. Mr. Peter Keiyo who guards the cooling plant said Tanykina had helped him boost his economic status by borrowing loans from the financial institution.
“Before Tanykina came into being, it was a tough task to educate our children because raising even Sh10,000 for fees was almost impossible, but today even if I am asked for sh40,000 I am able to pay from the proceeds of my milk”, said Keiyo.
The project emphasizes on training and sensitizing its members on best animal husbandry practices and record management techniques to enable the farmers to benefit more from the dairy business.
A decision of Tanykina dairies to introduce subsidized Artificial Insemination (A.I) services to its members, has not only ensured the farmers get high quality dairy breeds, but also increased their earnings through high milk productivity from the improved breeds.
The two farmers explain how they have been spared the indignity of depending on others to provide for their families as they are now economically empowered from milk proceeds and training they receive from the dairy plant and its partners. The first objective of the project, said the manager, was to improve marketing of milk, which faced serious challenges at the time the project was initiated.
“We provide Artificial Insemination services and also own Agro vet shops at the village trading centres for ease of access by farmers, ‘’ says Mrs Maru.
Farmers who supply their milk to Tanykina Dairy can access services through check off system and pay at the end of the month from the milk proceeds.
“When the plant started operating we received only 553 litres of milk on the first day from 143 farmers who were the initial members. Today, due to improved breeds, we are able to get up to 33,000 litres of milk daily”, said the manager.
The manager says they have streamlined the marketing of their milk through networking with potential markets
“ We have also signed contracts with buyers who come from as far as western Kenya and Nairobi, so we are able to sale all our milk throughout the year.”
The project is also collaborating with a non-governmental organization, East African Development Programme in providing training to farmers on how to run dairy farming as a business.
They have since established satellite coolers within the area including Kaptel, Surungai, Sangalo, Kaiboi, Kipkaren and the latest acquisition, Lemook. Trucks from the dairy also collect milk daily from collection centres located in Ndaptabwa, Chemnoet, Kabiemit and Kaptebes.
Already, a cooler that can store 5000 litres of milk has been acquired and will soon be installed at Lemook. The data clerk at the new cooling plant, Loice Chepkemboi, said they expect milk deliveries to increase from the current 3000 litres daily once the cooler starts operating.
Currently, Maru said Tanykina dairy has cooling tanks that can store 29,000 litres of milk. They have invested in modern record keeping database where all the six satellite coolers are interlinked with the headquarters and the community financial institution via Internet.
In order to provide more services to its members, Tanykina dairies have diversified its services by linking up with other stakeholders to include a medical scheme and insurance services for the livestock.
“Our members are now able to receive health services through Tanykina community health scheme with financial support from Netherlands-based Farm Access Foundation.
The members have also formed a SACCO where they are able to get loan facilities and the amount deducted in a pay-off system based on the litres of milk they supply to the dairy.
Maru says they hope to venture into value addition
“ We intend to venture into finished milk products as yoghurt and pasteurized milk, “ she said.
The success story of these small-scale dairy farmers from Kipkaren just goes to explain how combined efforts of people with a vision can bring about positive change in the community, and the country at large.
