Mutahi Kagwe.
By Mandere Onyinkwa
The government has initiated a nationwide campaign against milk hawking, stating that the unregulated sale of raw milk presents a significant public health hazard and impedes the development of Kenya’s dairy industry.
While flagging off 25 bulk milk coolers at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe issued a stern warning to milk brokers and hawkers selling directly to consumers, emphasizing that this practice must cease.
“Milk hawking must stop. It is dangerous, it is a health issue and it destroys the ability to create value-added dairy products,” stated Kagwe.
The CS warned that millions of Kenyans are consuming milk that cannot be traced, tested or certified as safe, exposing families, particularly children, to contamination and illness.
“If you have young children, feed them quality and traceable milk to avoid health issues such as diarrhea,” he advised.
This move represents a major policy shift as the government enhances oversight of Kenya’s rapidly expanding dairy sector, which remains largely dominated by informal traders operating outside regulated frameworks.
Kagwe accused milk hawking networks of undermining dairy cooperatives and processors while preventing farmers from benefiting from value-added products like yogurt, cheese and milk powder.
Under the new regulations, dairy processors and cooperatives must enhance traceability systems by identifying farmers, monitoring production levels and documenting the origin of every litre of milk supplied to the market.
The government states that these reforms will improve food safety while eliminating the influence of middlemen who resell raw milk without quality assurance.
The crackdown coincides with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development deploying 230 milk coolers valued at Sh1.43 billion nationwide. These coolers are projected to reduce milk spoilage, stabilize prices and encourage farmers to supply milk through organized collection systems rather than through hawkers.
To date, 95 coolers have been distributed, with the remaining units to be gradually implemented across dairy cooperatives throughout the country.
A livestock chief officer from Kakamega County acknowledged that brokers selling directly to consumers have compromised formal dairy channels and weakened quality control measures.
“Many brokers are selling milk directly to consumers. Milk coolers will help organize farmers and reduce hawking,” the official noted.
Leaders from milk cooperatives in Machakos County also requested improved dairy breeds to increase production as Kenya aims to enhance milk output and strengthen export competitiveness.
Kagwe explained that the reforms aim to establish Kenya not only as Africa’s top milk producer, but also as a global dairy exporter capable of producing milk powder while protecting farmers from losses during surplus periods.
“We want to ensure there is no milk price decline. Rain seasons and dry seasons should not destabilize farmers,” he stated.
The CS also announced plans to reduce production costs by promoting local cultivation of yellow maize and soya beans for animal feed through government-supported leasing programs.
Simultaneously, the government is advancing dairy genetics reforms through subsidized sexed semen programs designed to increase the population of high-quality dairy cows.
The subsidy has decreased the cost of sexed semen from Sh9,000 to Sh1,000, which the ministry claims will substantially boost milk productivity at the farm level.
Kagwe also criticized poor animal welfare practices in certain regions, criticizing farmers who confine cows in restricted spaces with limited movement or proper care.
“Some farmers put cows in prison. The way we treat cows matters,” he remarked.
The government anticipates that these reforms will generate thousands of employment opportunities in milk cooling, transport, veterinary services and dairy processing as it restructures the dairy sector around quality, traceability and farmer profitability.