County Government of Laikipia

A year after piped water reached all the four villages of Solio, the settlement has registered a significant rise in milk production.

  

Solio Ranch Settlement Dairy Cooperative Society Ltd, established in 2018 just before the first drop of water-for-production trickled to the scheme, reported increased growth in milk delivery by farmers across the seven villages.

  

Its main objective is to promote dairy production by the farmers as well as its marketing. Increased dairy production and subsequent higher earnings to farmers as among the outcomes expected from the Solio Community Water Project which was implemented by the County Government of Laikipia in partnership with Water Sector Trust Fund(WSTF).

  

As an economic enabler, the project was intended to transform the hitherto semi-arid area and uplift the living standards of over 2,000 households.

  

True to these intentions, milk deliveries to the co-operative society have increased to an average of 67,000 litres per month from a low of about 15,000 litres just in the last two years.

  

In one of his routine engagements with Solio citizens ahead of the completion of the water project, Governor Ndiritu Muriithi had given the residents of Solio an opportunity to say what they will do with the water to change their lives for the better.

  

I expect the productivity of your cows to increase from four litres a day to at least 25 litres a day due to better feeding and improvement of breeds. the governor said during one public engagement forum in the area.

  

The installation of a milk cooler by the government has further boosted milk production by the cooperative society.

  

As the county government rolls out a water-for-production programme, the county's dairy sector which is a key beneficiary of the programme has registered significant growth in the last three years.

  

According to the Laikipia County Statistical Abstract 2021, the number of dairy cattle increased from 67,240 in 2017 to 75,774 in 2020. Milk output stood at 5.18 million litres in 2020 compared to 3.04 million litres in 2017.

  

From undertaking irrigation to increasingly vibrant dairy production, water-for-production is transforming Solio from a famine-prone zone to a food basket.

  

Dairy cooperatives, such as Solio Dairy Cooperative Ltd, continue to drive laikipia's economy as they contribute job opportunities both directly and indirectly. Laikipia has 16 cooperatives in the dairy sector with 5,766 with an annual turnover of Ksh 129.6 million.

  

The county government of Laikipia was instrumental in ensuring the cooperative secured a public utility plot in village 4 in Solio to set up a structure to house the milk cooler, which has a capacity of 3,200 litres.

  

Farm gate Price

  

After securing the cooler from the national government, the cooperative could not utilize the machine until January 2019, when the county government intervened to operationalize the cooler. The county also advanced the society a loan of Kshs. 300,000 to enable it to install and operationalize the milk cooler.

  

The initial farm gate price for milk in Solio in 2018 was Kshs 22 per litre. Since we started cooling the milk, the price has increased to Ksh 36 per litre. society's chairman John Ngatia said.

  

The cooperative offers veterinary services, artificial insemination and training on dairy breeding, fodder, feeds and nutrition, disease prevention and control to its members. It has ensured dairy farmers in the settlement benefit from access facilities from financial institutions as they can use the milk as collateral for the loans. The cooperative has also organized training for dairy farmers on improving their breeds through AI. The cooperative plans are to process milk and establish a wholesale supply for the milk products. Establishing large-scale hay farming to supplement pasture for cattle is key.

  

This financial year, we have given the cooperative Ksh 500,000 to pay milk advance to the members before the final payment. These are strategic interventions that the county is undertaking to improve the economic livelihoods of Solio residents who were initially considered as subsistence farmers. says Cooperative Fund Mananger Richard Murigu.

  

The county government has been keen to support various cooperatives in the county by availing of working capital. As of 2020, the fund had disbursed loans amounting to Ksh 46.5 million to Laikipia Cooperatives, which led to the growth in their assets despite the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy.