The dairy sector on a ‘burning platform’

Even before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the dairy sector in Kenya was already on a ‘burning platform’, according to experts.

The burning platform metaphor

It comes from a story of a burning oilrig in the North Sea in 1988. Lack of attention and failure to check the system that had been working for deacdes, caused it.

In this incident, three remaining men (167 men had already perished) were faced with the decision of either diving into the freezing waters of the sea, or standing at the farthest corner of the rig and waiting for help. Two dived in and survived with a lot of injuries but one man decided to wait and burned to death.

This is the kind of situation the Kenyan dairy sector finds itself in. It either shapes up or we end up importing milk and its products for the next 15 years!

To understand why the sector is limping, we at the Smart Farmer rolled up our sleeves and researched the industry. We realised one thing: There is an urgent need for intervention.

As an agriculture media house, the result for us was the Annual Dairy Edition, the first of its kind in a series of special publications from the Smart Farmer Africa team. This unique publication speaks to the dairy industry about the dairy industry.

It provides an in-depth analysis on how to turn around the sector, with detailed information on best practices. It is a must-have and is tailored to be a reference material.

What is in the 112-page magazine?

The first section of the magazine gives you great insights drawn from several experts on what led to this state of affairs. It provides in-depth coverage about the trends in the sector, milk quality issues, regulations, and some proposed dairy models that experts believe can turn around the situation.

Low milk productivity is often due to the lack of adequate knowledge by farmers on how best to raise their animals. The second section of the magazine thoroughly addresses this. A rich offering of informative articles that address productivity such as:

• How to feed and manage your cows from calving through to lactation, for high milk production.
• Cow comfort principles that you can adopt that cost little or no money.
• The health and wellness of your animals; some common diseases and their control.
• Good breeding, artificial insemination (AI), embryo transfer amongst others
• Fodder and feeds. What is available, what works and what to avoid for the best results.

‘We hope you enjoy and reap great benefits from this edition that we have penned down with both passion and love for the sector and our farmers. It is an invaluable asset to all dairy farmers and can enable them to boost their production to international standards and bring them huge economic returns’

Ms Bernadette Murgor, CEO, Smart Farmer Africa- Leading Agriculture publisher

Asante.