Milk Vendors Win Support in War Against Dairy Board

The turf war in the dairy sub-sector intensified last week after a group of non-governmental organisations joined vendors of unprocessed milk in rejecting Kenya Dairy Board's safe milk campaign. The Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR), ActionAid Kenya, Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) and Strengthening Informal Sector Training and Enterprise (Site) said the high profile campaign is likely to have a negative effect on the dairy industry. Consumer safety, they said, should rightly be the concern of all. They, however, insist that any action against informal dealers should be based on clear, robust and recorded evidence 'as consumers are likely to respond to what they hear, especially when it concerns their health.'

The safe milk campaign alleges, among other things, that dealers in unprocessed milk regularly add formalin to the product and that their handling of milk is unhygienic and poses serious threat to consumers' health. In a position statement released last week, the NGOs said most of the claims cannot be substantiated and can, therefore, be understood to be driven by profit. The organisations state that formalin is a health risk that transcends processing since it is not destroyed by pasteurisation. A study of smallholder dairy projects conducted in milk producing areas found that the traders do not use chemical preservatives as alleged by the dairy board. Instead, it is some large-scale traders who use hydrogen peroxide to preserve milk during transportation over long distances.

In addition, the organisations noted that the clean milk campaign had failed to recognise the substantial health benefits that millions of poor households get from access to affordable milk. Dr John Omiti of IPAR, Mr Elijah Agevi of ITDG and ActionAid's Food Security Programme coordinator, Ms Elizabeth Mueni, said milk consumption had proved to be one of the most crucial ingredients in physical and mental development of children from poor families. They said evidence further suggests that most households cannot substitute processed milk for raw milk due to lack of access and high pricing.

'The unsubstantiated health concerns are likely to reduce overall milk consumption and its health benefits to the well-being of children from poor households,' they said. The NGOs said the dairy board's campaign was causing confusion amongst many consumers and unravels as an attempt to wipe out competition from the milk market in favour of producers of processed milk. Kenya's dairy sector is regarded as one of Africa's best. It is based on smallholder production and serves the nutritional needs of millions of predominantly poor consumers, as well as creating employment for hundreds of thousands of the rural population.

Some 800,000 or more smallholder dairy farmers depend on the raw milk market. Statistics show that the dairy sector employs an estimated 350,000 people. Raw milk takes up 86% of the entire milk market in Kenya. Over the years it has proved to be more dynamic in responding to consumer demand as well as key concerns such as affordability, taste and availability. Hawking, the NGOs said, represents only 23% of the milk sold. Direct farm sale of raw milk to consumers represents 42%, while milk bars control 15% of the market.

The NGOs maintained that the raw milk market is an important avenue through which millions of poor consumers meet their nutritional need. This market segment, they said, cannot be served by packaged milk. Most importantly, the NGOs said, it remains an important shield against nutrition-related illnesses in children whose dearth could only lead to an increase in child mortality. Of the estimated 29,000 jobs created by milk marketing and processing, over 21,000 (70%) are in informal raw milk sector.

'Raw milk does not pose health risks that have been attributed to it since the buyers boil the milk before consuming it,' the NGOs said. They maintained that milk from unlicensed traders is as good as that from their licensed counterparts. Boiling milk, they said, has the same effect as processing in removing bacterial health risks. Omiti said there was need to engage and develop not only the formal processed milk sector, but also the 'hugely important informal sector'.

He argued that greater investment in training of all participants, by both public and private sector, would enhance the quality of milk in the market. The training, they said, should be linked to some form of accreditation or licensing. It is also the position of the NGOs that there is a need to explore, develop and promote systems of self-regulation within the industry. The NGOs further maintained that there is need to promote a wider understanding of all the issues involved in order to maximise the contribution of the dairy sector to economic recovery, job creation and poverty reduction.

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 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 people's interests.

In Nairobi, Mr Munyao told a workshop on 'Value Adding in the Food Industry' 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 is 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 was 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 providing an enabling environment.