Kenyan dairy hub opens with Tetra Pak help
Tetra Pak Eastern Africa has partnered with New KCC and the East African Dairy Development project (EADD) to launch a dairy hub at Metkei, Kenya. The hub is aimed at developing the dairy value chain and creating a more sustainable source of milk in the district. It brings together over 2,000 registered farmers from Metkei, Kipsaos, Kapkitony and Tulwobei cooperative societies, according to Tetra Pak.
“The intention was to bring together players in the local dairy value chain by sharing expertise and resources so as to increase the quantity and quality of milk processed through the cooling plants established by EADD. This is expected to bring sustainability in the sector and ensure milk availability all year round,” Tetra Pak project manager Walter Ogonje says.
The Metkei Dairy Hub will be able to handle approximately 15,000 litres of milk per day. This milk will be collected by New KCC and packed in long life packages at the Nyahururu satellite cooling plant, with a capacity of 5,000kg.
EADD will provide technical support to ascertain longevity of the project while undertaking studies to improve production and sustainability in the dry season. Tetra Pak will cover the consultancy costs for the value chain study on milk availability, collection patterns and practices including proposing strategies and resource requirements. Tetra Pak will also equip the farmers with food grade containers for transporting and packaging of milk to satellite collection centres and the cooling plant.
The Metkei dairy hub is the second initiative undertaken by Tetra Pak, EADD and the New KCC to improve milk production in the country. The pilot project launched at Kokiche in Sotik town earlier in 2010 involves 30,000 dairy farmers and has a potential production capacity of 112,500 litres per day.
