By Mandere Onyinkwa
The government has launched a nationwide crackdown on milk hawking, warning that the unregulated sale of raw milk poses a serious public health risk and threatens the long-term growth of Kenya’s dairy industry.
Speaking during the flagging off of 25 bulk milk coolers at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe issued a strong warning to milk brokers and hawkers selling directly to consumers, saying the practice must end.
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“Milk hawking must stop. It is dangerous, it is a health issue and it destroys the ability to create value-added dairy products,” said Kagwe.
The CS warned that millions of Kenyans are consuming milk that cannot be traced, tested or certified as safe, exposing families, especially children, to contamination and disease.
“If you have young children, feed them quality and traceable milk to avoid health issues such as diarrhea,” he said.
The move signals a major policy shift as the government tightens oversight of Kenya’s fast-growing dairy sector, which is still heavily controlled by informal traders operating outside regulated systems.
Kagwe accused milk hawking networks of weakening dairy cooperatives and processors while denying farmers opportunities to benefit from value-added products such as yogurt, cheese and milk powder.
Under the new reforms, dairy processors and cooperatives will be required to strengthen traceability systems by identifying farmers, tracking production levels and documenting the source of every litre of milk supplied to the market.
The government says the reforms will improve food safety while dismantling the influence of middlemen who resell raw milk without quality checks.
The crackdown comes as the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development rolls out 230 milk coolers worth Sh1.43 billion across the country. The coolers are expected to reduce milk spoilage, stabilize prices and encourage farmers to supply milk through organized collection systems instead of hawkers.
So far, 95 coolers have already been distributed, with the remaining units set to be rolled out in phases to dairy cooperatives nationwide.
A livestock chief officer from Kakamega County admitted that brokers selling directly to consumers have weakened formal dairy channels and undermined quality control efforts.
“Many brokers are selling milk directly to consumers. Milk coolers will help organize farmers and reduce hawking,” the official said.
Leaders from milk cooperatives in Machakos County also called for improved dairy breeds to boost production as Kenya seeks to increase milk output and strengthen export competitiveness.
Kagwe said the reforms are intended to position Kenya not only as Africa’s largest milk producer, but also as a global dairy exporter capable of producing milk powder while shielding farmers from losses during periods of excess supply.
“We want to make sure there is no milk pricing coming down. Rain seasons and dry seasons should not destabilize farmers,” he said.
The CS also announced plans to lower production costs by promoting local cultivation of yellow maize and soya beans for animal feed through government-backed leasing programmes.
At the same time, the government is accelerating dairy genetics reforms through subsidized sexed semen programmes aimed at increasing the number of high-quality dairy cows.
The subsidy has reduced the cost of sexed semen from Sh9,000 to Sh1,000, a move the ministry says will significantly improve milk productivity at the farm level.
Kagwe also criticized poor animal welfare practices in some areas, faulting farmers who keep cows in cramped structures with little movement or proper care.
“Some farmers put cows in prison. The way we treat cows matters,” he said.
The government says the reforms are expected to create thousands of jobs in milk cooling, transport, veterinary services and dairy processing as it restructures the dairy sector around quality, traceability and farmer profitability.
