Rigathi Gachagua
Dairy farmers are set to earn more following quick interventions by the government to deal with a milk glut that threatened to wipe out higher prices, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said.
Speaking on Sunday while attending a Holy Mass at St Andrew Kaggwa Catholic Church in Kwanza Constituency, Trans Nzoia County, Gachagua said the government had intervened by allocating Sh900 million to the Kenya Cooperative Creameries to buy the milk to stop the prices from dropping owing to the extra production.
According to the DP, milk prices will rise to Sh50 per litre up from Sh45 beginning March 1, 2024, because of the intervention adding that they seek to increase the prices to over Sh60 per litre in the coming months.
“As a government, we released Sh900 million to stabilise the prices in the milk sector after a glut following the heavy rains. The prices at Kenya Cooperatives Creameries will be raised from Sh45 per litre to Sh50 from March 1 and up to Sh60 in the coming months,” Gachagua said.
At the same time, the Deputy President also asked farmers in Trans Nzoia to increase acreage under maize saying the government had released adequate subsidized fertilizer which is being sold at Sh2,500 per 50kg bag.
“Trans Nzoia County is important in our country’s food security. The subsidized fertilizer is readily available here. We thank Governor George Natembeya for ensuring the last-mile distribution of the fertilizer,” said the Deputy President who discouraged the farmers from selling all their harvests asking them to keep some for domestic consumption.
The DP also warned teachers against sending home Junior Secondary School learners for lack of school uniforms or desks saying stern action would be taken against them.
“Let them not send our children home over levies and unnecessary fees introduced at the school. Any teacher defying the government’s orders will face stern action,” he warned.
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