Dairy farmers in Murang’a who supply their milk to the county cooperative creameries are set to get better prices by the end of this month. Governor Mwangi wa Iria has announced that the farmers allied to the county creameries will be paid Sh. 40 per liter of milk delivered. The governor on Wednesday speaking after meeting leaders of the cooperative societies noted that the new price will be directly paid to farmers warning all local cooperatives to deduct money meant for the farmers. The county cooperative creameries have been paying Sh. 35 per liter of milk, something which made some farmers start delivering their milk to better paying companies. Wa Iria stressed that the county government will come in and reduce cost of production so as to ensure farmers are not charged any administration fee. He further cautioned leaders of the cooperatives of paying farmers later than date 5 of every month.
The county government back in 2015 procured 50 milk coolers and formed cooperative societies with the aim of boosting earnings for dairy farmers. The governor and the county government will procure 15 more milk coolers to be distributed to areas which don’t have the facilities. The governor further stated that Artificial Insemination (AI) will be moved from the department of agriculture to that of cooperatives. The AI services, he added, will be offered at Sh. 300 from Sh. 500 so as to ensure all farmers get access to the services. Meanwhile Wa Iria warned a section of political leaders who were eying various seats to stop politicizing the dairy sector.