Armed with pens, notebooks and mobile phones, farmers from different parts of the country thronged the International Dairy and Ice Cream Expo and Conference at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi from December 6 to 8 to have a feel of the event.
The event, the first of its kind in Kenya, attracted more than 70 exhibitors and companies from many parts of the world.
Local and foreign experts had a lot to tell Kenyan farmers during the fair, emphasising greatly on milk value-addition.
Demonstrations and conference training were used to inform farmers that making flavoured milk, yoghurt, butter, cream, ghee and cheese can make their ventures lucrative.
The farmers fielded tough questions. Why, many demanded to know, doesn’t the price of raw milk rise to their satisfaction?
Questions on the unprecedented high production costs were responded to in detail.
Experts and dairy industry stakeholders urged them to embrace technology.
Seeds of Gold sampled the technology and innovations on value-addition.
Milk collection system
Scales Technology Solutions Ltd offered a remedy in transparency in milk cooperatives.
Dealing with scales ranging from retail, medical, weighbridge, crane, laboratory and vehicle, the locally based firm showcased a modern milk collection system.
A dump tank is connected to an indicator serving as a scale, reading the weight of the milk. The stainless steel collection and weighing machine has a can for adding and pouring milk.
Vincent Omondi, the company’s IT expert, said data is captured on an indicator. The system is configured to an app installed in an android phone.
The android device terminal can be embedded with a serial printer.
“By tracing a supplier’s number, a cooperative society can print a receipt or send a prompt message to the farmer for accountability,” he said.
Data, report, quantity of milk and operations in the field can be analysed through the server, curbing inaccuracy during delivery. The technology, though, is still new.
Yoghurt cap filling and sealing
Value addition technology and innovations on milk products were on display too. Micron Industries Ltd and Goma Process Technologies from India had solutions.
Based in Mumbai, Micron makes packaging machines for milk, yoghurt, ice cream, butter, flavoured milk and other dairy products.
The company exhibited a yoghurt-filling machine, ideal for smallholder farmers.
The $10,000 machine has a rotating turntable and a hopper.
Company director Mahesh Padhye said caps are put manually on the table. Volumes are set according to the cap size, such as 80, 100 or 200ml. When the caps are filled, they are automatically sealed with a foil.
“It works on 500 to 600 caps per hour,” Padhye told farmers, adding that the machine needs a maximum of two operators.
Goma Technologies showcased an and automated yoghurt filler.
With an hourly output production of 2,000 caps, the system has a number of stages, including cap loading, yoghurt filling, aluminium foil sealing and heating.
He added that the machine is only operated by one person.
Butter churner
Cowbell, an Indian company, provided small solutions to farmers to produce butter from cream.
The company makes milk cans, cream separators, butter churners and milk testing analysis equipment.
The 20-kilo capacity butter churner has a tank which takes 10 kilos of milk cream then filled with 10 litres of water.
According to Aman Narang, the exports MD, the machine rotates for 45 minutes when processing butter. It is automated.
“It processes 10 kilos of cream per hour,” he said, adding that one machine costs Sh87, 000.
Cream separator
The cream separator is electrically operated. It has a capacity of 100 litres an hour.
“Farmers in Kenya are struggling with low prices of raw milk but they can make more money with this machine,” Narang said.
Pasteuriser and cooler
Working with 480 cooperatives and a network of 700 farmers, Techwin company had improvised pasteuriser and coolers on display.
Company marketing coordinator Queen L’ombaka said the machine is a game-changer in the dairy industry.
“A litre of raw milk goes for as low as Sh35 but if pasteurised and cooled or processed into fermented milk, it can fetch a much as Sh90,” he said.
The company had on display a 50-litre capacity multipurpose pasteurizer that is electric-operated. It costs Sh157, 000.
Funding farmers to buy equipment for value-addition is a big problem,” L’ombaka said.
Tashikka CEO Meera Mathew said the dairy industry would grow fast if farmers understand the many opportunities in value-addition.
Exhibitors from abroad challenged farmers to untie their operations from solely relying on raw milk.
“The secret of making money in dairy is adding value to milk. A kilo of ghee goes for as much as Sh1,000. Processing milk will increase farmers income,” she advised.
Meera said such fairs can transform smallholder dairy farmers by taking technology and innovation close to their doorstep.
By Sammy Waweru