Every once in a while there will come a person who wants (and can afford) to buy a herd of dairy cows for commercial purposes but does not have the time needed to look after them.

A good number of these individuals live abroad, but plan to retire in the country; as dairy farmers. They, however, are often not willing to start their dairy farming lives from a point of uncertainty.

Luckily, established dairy farms have already taken notice of the rising interest, and are coming up with enticing offers, allowing people to buy cows and have them raised professionally on their own land.

It is telephone farming, without the common risk of mismanagement, and it allows investors to add their lot to the five billion litres of milk produced in Kenya annually.  

The farmer offers a service to the buyer of the cow by feeding, and maintaining it, at a fee, while the owner gains from the benefits a dairy farmer would get from a cow-money from milk sales. This form of contract farming is gradually getting prominence in the country through the frontiership of Manilla Farm, a company that describes itself as “international breeders and resellers of pure holstein friesian heifers.”

The plan as outlined by Manilla is straight-forward. The farmer, either existing or new, employs Manilla Farm as a contract farmer and provides the land and investment capital. For Sh2m, Manilla will provide five pregnant heifers and they will ensure that the animals are well managed for a contract period of five years.

This herd belongs to the farmer, who earns a monthly revenue that is agreed upon at the time of contract signing. Manilla Farm will receive a basic fee to cover their immediate costs, in addition to a management fee.

In this arrangement, Manillla guarantee that the initial investment will be repaid in full by the end of the first year, and that the investor will be on his/her way to profits by the second year.

In addition, the founders of Manilla take pride in the knowledge that one such project can create employment for up to eight people.

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Manilla Farm can be found at:

Kimathi Street, Kimathi Chambers, 6th Floor. Nairobi, Kenya
-or –

reached through phone numbers: +254 726 490629/Phone2:: +254 732 409487/E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.