The government has intensified it’s crackdown on milk hawking with Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe warning that the sale of distribution of unregulated raw milk across the country poses a serious public health risks and continues to weaken diary industry
Speaking on Wednesday 20th May, at Uhuru Park, Nairobi during the flagging off of twenty five bulk milk coolers for dairy cooperatives in 25 counties among them Machakos and Makueni, Kagwe said the government would move aggressively to streamline milk distribution and strengthen traceability systems in the country’s dairy value chain.
“Milk hawking must stop. It is dangerous, it is a health issue and it destroys the ability to create value-added dairy products,” Kagwe said.
The CS warned that millions of Kenyans continue to consume milk sold through informal channels that cannot easily be traced, tested or verified for safety standards.
According to the ministry, milk sold directly by brokers and hawkers often bypasses cooling, inspection and quality assurance systems, exposing consumers to possible contamination and disease outbreaks.
Kagwe particularly warned families with young children against consuming milk from unregulated sources.
“If you have young children, feed them quality and traceable milk to avoid health issues such as diarrhoea,” he said.
Kenya remains one of Africa’s leading milk producers, but a large share of the product is still distributed through informal traders who operate outside regulated collection and processing systems.
The government now says the dominance of brokers and hawkers has undermined dairy cooperatives, frustrated processors and denied farmers opportunities to benefit from value-added dairy products such as yoghurt, cheese and milk powder.
Under the planned reforms, processors and cooperatives will be required to strengthen traceability mechanisms by maintaining records showing where milk is sourced from, how much individual farmers produce and how products move through the supply chain.
Kagwe said that the reforms are aimed at improving food safety standards while also helping dismantle informal milk distribution networks that have dominated parts of the sector for years.
The crackdown comes as the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development rolls out a dairy support programme involving the distribution of 230 milk coolers valued at about Sh1.43 billion to cooperatives across the country.
The ministry says the coolers are intended to reduce milk spoilage, improve storage and encourage farmers to channel milk through organised collection systems instead of relying on brokers.
So far, 95 coolers have already been distributed, with the remaining units expected to be rolled out in phases.
A livestock official from Kakamega County said informal milk traders have continued to frustrate regulation efforts by selling milk directly to consumers without proper oversight.
“Many brokers are selling milk directly to consumers. Milk coolers will help organise farmers and reduce hawking,” the official said.
Kagwe said the government is also pursuing measures aimed at reducing production costs for dairy farmers, including promoting local cultivation of yellow maize and soya beans used in animal feed production.
ministry is additionally scaling up access to subsidised sexed semen to improve dairy genetics and increase the number of high-yield cows in the country.
According to the CS, the subsidy programme has reduced the cost of sexed semen from Sh9,000 to about Sh1,000.
Kagwe also criticised poor livestock management practices in some areas, saying some farmers keep cows in overcrowded and unsuitable conditions that negatively affect productivity and animal welfare