State to Reform Dairy Industry

Dairy industry players are set to gain more control of the crucial sector when current legislation is reviewed. The Agriculture ministry would push for the amendment of the Dairy Industry Act in the next session of Parliament, said Assistant minister Joseph Munyao in Nairobi yesterday. Elsewhere in Eldoret, it was revealed that the Kenya Dairy Board would be restructured to pave the way for the direct election of directors by farmers, instead of the present system where they are appointed by the government.

This and other changes would help harmonise relations between the board, milk processors and distributors, said senior KDB manager Dr Philip Cherono at a one-day workshop for stakeholders in the North Rift town. Elected directors, he said, would be more accountable since they would represent the peoples' interests.

In Nairobi, Mr Munyao told a workshop on 'Value Adding in the Food Industry', sponsored by Promaco Ltd, that the government was concerned about farmers' inability to sell their products, especially during the wet season, owing to increased production. To address this, there was a need to review laws and allow more investors to establish drying plants, he told participants that included investors from Denmark, Uganda and Tanzania. 'The biggest challenge facing the industry is the lack of sufficient milk drying plants to absorb the excess milk during the wet season. There is, therefore, an urgent need to put up more milk drying plants similar to the Kenya Cooperative Creameries in Kiganjo, Nyeri, to absorb the surplus,' said Mr Munyao. His ministry is already in the process of reviewing the 1993 Dairy Development Policy and the Dairy Industry Act, Cap 336, to limit the role of government to provide an enabling environment.