Dairy farmers and other milk industry in Embu County have appealed to the national government to hand over control of the underutilised New KCC Runyenjes Factory to local farmers.

The stakeholders are of the opinion that, by placing ownership of the multi-million facilities under farmers, the move would boost production, processing and value addition, thus increase farmers’ earnings and boost the local economy.

Currently, milk farmers in the county are feeling the pinch for selling raw milk to external processors at low prices due to low bargaining power that can be reversed if they took control of the plant.

“We have assessed the KCC Plant which is a bulking centre and in principle, it is extremely underutilized and not helping farmers much and our feeling is that the facility is given to farmers,” said Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) Chair Genesio Mugo.

He said the plant had not met the intended objective of reducing post-harvest losses in the county and the only way to turn around farmers’ fortunes was to put it under their management.

“With proper utilisation and value addition, milk farmers will stop talking about poor farm gate prices because they will be able to process and sell value added milk,” he said

The push comes at a time when the government is exploring privatisation of state-owned enterprises with the goal of injecting efficiency, reducing national debt burden and generating revenue.

He was speaking on Thursday at Kigari Teachers College Grounds in Manyatta Constituency during the launch of the MKITHA Milk Farmers Union, which brings together dairy farmers from Embu, Kirinyaga and Tharaka Nithi counties.

The event was graced by Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development Mutahi Kagwe. Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire said her government was ready to support the revival of the factory if it is handed over to local farmers.

“We are ready to set aside Ksh200 million to revive and modernise Runyenjes milk processing plant once it is given to Embu farmers,” Mbarire said.

She also appealed to the national government to complement the county through funding to fully modernise the facility.

“I am appealing to the national government to give an additional Ksh500 million so that the factory can be equipped with modern machinery and proper infrastructure to serve our farmers effectively,” she said.

Kagwe said the government was open to the proposal and promised to escalate the matter to President William Ruto.

“I will put this request to the president but I want to urge milk farmers in Embu to first unite. Unity is key if you want such strategic assets entrusted to you,” he said, noting that strong, united cooperatives give farmers better leverage in the market.

The launch of the MKITHA Milk Farmers Union was hailed as a major step toward regional cooperation, with leaders saying it will strengthen farmer voices and improve coordination across counties.

Mbarire noted that EMKITHA is designed to deliver better and more predictable incomes for farmers, create sustainable employment, especially for the youth and unlock broad-based economic opportunities across the county.

“By integrating farmers into a modern, competitive value chain, the initiative is expected to significantly enhance productivity and resilience within the sector,” she said.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Samuel Waititu