The context

The milk supply chain program continues the experience that Mani Tese and NECOFA have gained over the years in Kenya to promote food security and entrepreneurial promotion in the Molo River Basin. The project intervention area covers Molo Sub county with a population of 156,732 (KNBS, 2019) in Nakuru County and Baringo South with a population of 109,759 (2018) in Baringo County. This area belongs to the sub-Saharan area particularly vulnerable to climatic phenomena, where years of extreme drought alternate with years of powerful floods. This is a situation that severely affects the livelihoods of the area’s population, which is highly dependent on the area’s natural resources.

Kenya’s milk market is the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa, with local production, however, barely covering 50 percent of requirements. Milk producers are also unable to access the market, squeezed by middlemen who buy milk at derisory prices penalizing consumers and not allowing adequate returns to producers.

The milk chain program aims to promoteregenerative agriculture related to dairy production by encouraging high value-added, natural, artisanal and better-margin milk productions that are in high demand among the population and in the market.

The goals

The overall goal of the program is to promote food and nutritional security through the promotion of the integrated and sustainable milk supply chain within the Molo River Basin by creating new job opportunities.

In fact, through the activities implemented, it is intended to increase the production, sale and accessibility of noble proteins for beneficiary communities with a view to food security, entrepreneurial promotion and sustainability.

The activities

Current activities within the milk supply chain program are divided within several initiatives:

Milk Bora – Promotion of the milk supply chain

The overall objective of the project, implemented in collaboration with the Veneto Region, is to promote food security and increased income for small local producers, particularly women, by strengthening the quality milk supply chain with an integrated and sustainable approach. Activities are planned for the production and promotion of dairy products, the strengthening of the Molo milk collection center, technical trainings on the value chain, and the establishment of experimental farms for increased fodder production and soil regeneration. It is also planned to raise awareness of the Kenyan context and the supply chain approach to the issues inherent in the project by strengthening the ties between these two lands through cultural activities and by promoting a relationship between producers and consumers.

Milk Bora – Friuli’s excellence in supporting the milk supply chain in Kenya

The project, in collaboration with the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, aims to promote the sustainable milk supply chain in the Nakuru Basin through the creation of a collaborative network between small-scale producers, supply chain operators and other actors in the sector. To increase high-quality milk production by 20 percent, a training and capacity-building program for producers will be implemented. To increase the number of producers adopting sustainable production practices by 50 percent, infrastructure will be upgraded and both training in business management and know-how transfer from Friulian excellence to the field will be promoted.

Finally, to improve the economic conditions of small-scale producers with a 20 percent increase in income,management trainings and microfinance will beimplemented as well as grants disbursed for farmers.

Milk Vision 2030: Strengthening the dairy sector through sustainability and exchange pathways

The overall objective of the project, implemented in collaboration with Emilia-Romagna Region, is to improve the economic and social conditions of rural communities in Nakuru County through the promotion of a sustainable milk supply chain in the Nakuru Basin. It is planned to increase the production, sale and accessibility of milk and its derivatives through the strengthening of the Molo center and the technical capacity of producers, as well as the educational exchange between Emilia-Romagna and Kenya. Awareness-raising activities are also planned for the population of the Emilia-Romagna region, and in particular, the citizens of Finale Emilia and the province of Modena, on the importance of conscious and sustainable consumption and the enhancement of local products.