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: 04 July 2019; Hits: 6594

New KCC cuts milk prices by five shillings as supply increases by 25 per cent

The New Kenya Cooperative Creameries has cut milk prices by five shillings for a 500ml packet from Sh55 to Sh50 following increased supply of the commodity in the market. The new prices became effective on July 2^nd 2019 and would benefit consumers of the product who have been paying between Sh55 to Sh60 in the last three months.

The Kenya Dairy Board which is the industry regulator reports that New KCC and Brookside, the two largest milk processors controlling a market share of more than 60 per cent are now processing an average of 1.2m liters of milk daily up from 800,000 liters in November last year.

According to the KDB, the country has the highest milk demand in Africa with a per capita consumption of 110L per person compared to 60L in Uganda, less than 100L in Tanzania and 90L in South Africa.

Kenya produces estimated 5.2bn liters of milk, all of which is consumed leaving a deficit of 100m liters.

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new kcc sotik

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta views some of the milk products produced by New KCC's factory in Sotik, Bomet County during it's launch last year.

In 2018, the New KCC upgraded its plants in Dandora, Sotik, Eldoret and Uasin Gishu at a cost of one billion shillings to enable it purchase more milk from farmers countrywide.

The Sotik factory for instance which was upgraded at a cost Sh200m has increased the factory’s processing capacity from the previous 60,000 liters to 100,000 liters of raw milk per day. In this, farmers in the region are set to see upturn in their income from Sh850m to about 1.5bn in a year according to data from New KCC.

According to data from the Kenya Dairy Board, the state owned dairy processor has increased its share in the market from 23 per cent to 35 per cent since 2016 after upgrading of factories in Eldoret and Dandora. The New KCC targets to control 40 per cent of the market in future.

The New KCC factories produces milk products such as butter, cheese, fermented milk, milk powder and fresh milk for sale to local markets besides exporting to Tanzania, South Sudan and Saudi Arabia.

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: 03 July 2019; Hits: 4874

Blue economy forum to help source markets for Kenyan fish farmers

The recently concluded Africa Blue Economy Forum (ABEF) 2019 has guaranteed to bolster fish farming as well as source fish markets for Kenyan farmers.

Kenya’s fisheries sub sector has declined since 2014 from Sh25.5bn earned in 2014 to Sh22.9bn earned in 2017 due to the encroachment of water hyacinth, coupled with destructive fishing practices and dwindling stocks of Nile perch species in Lake Victoria according to the 2018 Economic Survey Report.

Fish accounts for more than one-fifth of the protein intake of Africans south of the Sahara and provides a livelihood to millions of people.

Convened in Tunis, the capital city of Tunisia, delegates from across the continent last week deliberated on how to scale up the Blue Economy for the black continent.

To achieve this, the speakers at the meeting jointly agreed to enhance cooperation between the ocean stakeholders, better governance and law enforcement agencies.

“Regional, national and local strategies are required to build a long-term plan and develop partnerships that are beyond short-term projects. Engaging with new technologies and innovative financing mechanisms which are also key to shaping a sustainable Blue Economy in Africa” they said.

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fishing

Leila Ben Hassen, ABEF founder and CEO of Blue Jay Communication, which organized the forum, said we can no longer just dip our toe in the water.

“We must dive in and be decisive in making and delivering change that will serve Africa for many years to come. It is no longer business as usual. Africa must have a sustainable Blue Business Plan which will have a positive impact on the environment, on the economy and on society,” she said.

To bolster this, the delegates came up with sustainable Blue Business Plan which they said would accelerate Africa’s transformation, create employment opportunities, sustain livelihoods and empower communities, while at the same time offer impactful climate change measures.

The ABEF2019 explored how governments and private sectors can collaborate; tackling ocean pollution; innovative funding solutions; enhanced food security and sustainable growth for the fishing industry; sustainable ocean energy; how to engage more women to work in the maritime value chains and the opportunities to embrace the youth generation in the Blue Economy.

Other key outcomes from the ABEF2019 saw the World Ocean Council, Tunisian Maritime Cluster and SETAP Tunisia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a platform to connect, share information, scientific research and technologies between the Mediterranean and the coastal African countries.

These advances come at a time fish farming in Kenya is dwindling forcing the country to source fish from other countries which scientists say contains metal thus posing health risks to consumers.

According to investigations done by The EastAfrican in 2018, fish imported from china contained traces of heavy metals thus posing health risks to the consumers.

The results confirmed residues of 0.04 ppm of lead, 0.005 ppm of mercury, 0.001 ppm of arsenic and 1.2 ppm of copper, indicating possible contamination of the water ponds used to farm the fish

A report on the Importation of Fish from China by the Assembly Fisheries Committee showed that Kisumu County has a deficit of 4,000 tonnes of fish which can only be met by importing the commodity.

“Fish farming in Lake Victoria has been dwindling from the peak of 5,000 tonnes per annum in the year 2000 to current production of a mere 2,600 tonnes per annum as in 2016,” the report said.

Kenya has 18,029 square kilometers of inland water resources. Freshwater fish account for close to 98 per cent of Kenya’s reported aquaculture production.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), domestic production has proven unable to meet demand though.

According to KNBC, the country needs to import 800,000 tonnes of fish every year to meet its ever increasing demand.

Kenya imported fish valued at $12 million in 2017, up from $10 million in 2016. Consumption has been increasing due to growing recognition of its nutritional value, population increase and food storage improvements.

Global fish trade has been increasing very rapidly in recent decades. An estimated 45 per cent of the world catch is now traded internationally.

According to the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute 2017, the fisheries and aquaculture sector contributes about 0.8 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), providing direct employment opportunities to over 500,000 people and supporting over 2 million people indirectly.

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: 03 July 2019; Hits: 7178

Thika vegetable farm turn to institutions and retailers for reliable markets and payments

gathiru kales vegatables farm Keles in part of Gathiru vegetable farm at Central Valley, Thika. The farm produces various vegetables including indigenous varieties for their wide customer base. Photo courtesy.

Gathiru Farm, horticulture produce growers in Thika, a town just 42 kilometres northeast of Nairobi has ventured into fresh vegetable production to feed schools, hotels and supply hotels, supermarkets, groceries and stores which offer steady and ready market as opposed to traders and one-off consumers.

“When we started farming last year in September we used to harvest on order for traders who come from Thika Town and Nairobi. However, with time the buyers started becoming unreliable in terms of collecting the produce and making payments in time. This has forced us to up our production standards something that has enabled us to acquire supply tenders with institutions and bigger retailers,” said Peter Gathiru, the founder of the farm.

Among the vegetables, the farm specialized in include spinach, kales, broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, dhania, capsicum (green and yellow), lettuce and red cabbage. They also grow indigenous varieties such as manage (black nightshade) and terere among others.

In order to attract more buyers, the farm offers free delivery within Thika Town.

The farm is also providing a free training opportunity for students both high school and tertiary level pursuing agriculture courses and upcoming farmers. The training sessions are always booked by farmers and learners alike.

“Right now July is fully booked by learners and we encourage those who want to visit us to call for nest month bookings,” said Gathiru.

Gathiru Farm can be reached on 0724 306395

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