In 2017, students at Bukura Agricultural College in Western put forth a business idea to their school.
Final-year students who were pursuing a diploma in animal production at the college conducted a survey and discovered that the milk consumed in the region was being brought from the Rift Valley. Some milk products were even imported from Uganda.
According to Davis Kamau, who currently serves as the plant manager at a successful dairy at the college, “This area has great potential for dairy farming, but only a few farmers had embraced this opportunity. We saw it as a business opportunity.”
The college embraced the students’ recommendations and initiated a dairy farm.
In response to the initial proposal by the students, the college purchased two dairy cows, leading to a daily milk production of 50 litres in a short span of time.
The project received a boost when the students submitted a funding proposal to the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) with the aim of establishing a modern dairy farm.
With a grant of Sh25 million from the agency, the college was able to construct a dairy plant, significantly enhancing their capacity to produce 2,000 litres of milk per day.
“The dairy was established with the twin objectives of commercial milk production after value-addition and as a training unit for college students undertaking a course in animal production,” Kamau said.
The college bought 20 dairy cows but quickly found that more cows were needed to meet the demand for milk from residents, who had started coming to the institution to buy milk.
“To meet with the forces of demand and supply, we again bought an additional 25 cows that saw us increase the processing capacity to 800 litres per day,” Kamau said. The college also rears milk cows with the main breeds being Jersey, Friesians and Ayrshire.
“We also contracted five dairy farmers and trained them on better farming practices, and we get 200 litres of milk per day from them. Our current processing capacity is now 1,000 litres a day,” the plant manager added.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Kenya Dairy Board have since accredited their operations.
In order to increase their profits, the college has begun producing branded yogurt, fermented milk, and pasteurized milk. Kamau stated that they are discouraging the purchase of raw milk as it does not generate good revenue.
The college has a reliable market in the nearby schools, colleges, leading supermarkets, and local shops in Kakamega, Busia, Bungoma, Vihiga, and Kisumu counties. Kamau mentioned that a 500ml yogurt is sold for Sh80, while fermented milk is priced at Sh130 per liter.
Kamau further added that they make profits ranging from Sh1 million to Sh1.5 million in a good month. They anticipate tripling their monthly revenue when milk processing reaches full capacity.
To expand their milk processing capacity, the college intends to purchase more dairy cows. Additionally, they plan to install ATM milk kiosks in Kakamega and Bungoma to extend their market reach.
The college also aims to produce cream, ghee, and biscuits. Patrick Chogo, the commercial farm manager, explained that they want to optimize their profits by fully formulating their dairy feeds. Currently, 70 percent of the feeds are produced at the college farm.
Chogo described the process of producing feed, which involves harvesting and drying Napier grass, hay, desmodium, yellow maize, and sorghum. These are then crushed into fine particles and fed to the animals. The mixture includes 35kg of dry and crushed maize stalks and Napier grass, 12kg of wheat bran, 8kg of maize jam, 35kg of hay, 8kg of malt residue, a kilo of salt, and four liters of molasses, all mixed with 60 liters of water. This formulation is provided to the animals on a daily basis.
Geoffrey Gichuki, the assistant farm manager, expressed concerns about high feed costs, as they are cutting into the profits more than anticipated. Nevertheless, he expressed confidence in the college’s comprehensive plans to provide feed for the next two years.
Acting principal Paul Kuria said the income-generating unit had provided invaluable cash flow to the college, allowing it to stay afloat when it faced financial constraints. He is now determined to make the project more viable by reaching a wider market. He also wants to ensure the project gives job opportunities to local farmers and residents, he said.
“Through our dairy project, the institute has trained more than 1,000 farmers, who are also into dairy farming. We will contract them so they can produce enough milk to meet our expansion targets of processing 5,000 litres of milk in two years’ time,” Kuria said.
Internship opportunities for graduates from the college as well as from other institutions of higher learning will make the project even more beneficial to the wider community, he said.