A litre of milk reached Sh85 in six Nairobi estates as President William Ruto urged Kenya to diversify milk production and approved 50 acres at the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone for a Kenya Tea Development Agency value-addition facility. Farmers, officials and development partners met in Nairobi as the decisions came, discussing food sovereignty, production and market access.
Milk supply and farmer returns
A Daily Nation spot check found milk selling for Sh85 a litre in Kasarani, Githurai, Zimmerman, Kayole, Buruburu and Embakasi. Before the shortage, Zimmerman residents paid Sh75. Ruto linked falling cow's milk supplies to drought and urged producers to expand supplies from camels, sheep, goats and buffaloes. The buffalo reference drew laughter from the audience.
At the close of the three-day Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Summit 2026 at Jamhuri Showgrounds in Nairobi, Ruto told Principal Secretary for Livestock Development Jonathan Mueke to fast-track the search for improved camel breeds. Expanding camel milk production, Ruto said, will require investment in pastoralist communities, which have the animals and traditional knowledge to support the value chain. Camel milk, traditionally associated with arid and semi-arid land areas, also has a market in urban centres, including Nairobi. He said the government would explore ways to improve livestock breeds and connect pastoralist producers with urban markets.
Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe described the situation as a decline in supply, playing down claims of a milk shortage in an interview this week with Fixing the Nation. He said the government would keep engaging dairy cooperatives and processors. Farmers received between Sh50 and Sh53 per litre through some cooperatives and processors, while others paid up to Sh55, Kagwe said, pointing to the need for efficient cooperative management and fair returns.
Ruto said changes at New Kenya Cooperative Creameries aimed to improve farmer earnings and ensure timely payment. “Farmers shouldn't have to wait two or three months to receive their money,” he said. He also credited subsidised fertiliser and productivity efforts with lifting national milk production from 4.5 billion litres to 5.5 billion litres over the past three years. Kenya, Ruto said, had become Africa's largest milk producer.
Value addition and outside financing
Ruto said the government had mobilised Sh1.55 billion to modernise selected tea factories, with another Sh850 million made available for further improvements intended to raise efficiency and reduce disparities in farmer earnings. Tea production, he said, had increased by 50 million kilogrammes, while average payments for green leaf rose from Sh16 per kilogramme three years ago to about Sh30 this year. The government also provided Sh100 million to Kenya Tea Packers to modernise processing facilities.
The approved 50 acres at Dongo Kundu will host a KTDA facility targeting higher-value tea products and export markets. Ruto described the measures as part of a move from subsistence production toward commercial agriculture, local processing, job creation and higher farm incomes. When wider economic linkages are included, agriculture contributes about 50 per cent of Kenya's gross domestic product, he said.
The summit's theme was “Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation — Advancing Food Sovereignty, Job Creation, and Shared Prosperity under BETA.” More than 10,000 farmers, government officials, county leaders, private sector players and development partners attended.
Qimiao Fan, World Bank Director for Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda, called for sustained investment and collaboration among government, development partners and private investors. The World Bank Group aims to increase global annual financing for farming and agribusiness to $9 billion by 2030 and mobilise another $5 billion from the private sector, he said. The bank was in advanced discussions with the Kenyan government on a multi-year, multisector programme that could invest in farming, agribusiness, irrigation, rural roads, research, extension services and digital infrastructure.
Markets and production capacity
Muthomi Njuki, Tharaka Nithi Governor and Council of Governors Vice-Chairperson, said increased production following subsidies on fertiliser, certified seeds and artificial insemination services had strained markets and processing capacity in some areas. “We need to strengthen markets, processing and value addition so that increased production translates into better incomes for farmers,” he said. Njuki urged the government to implement the AgriConnect Compact without delay.
Ruto also said the government had gazetted all 41 fish landing sites along the Coast as government facilities and would develop them to support fishing communities. Planned support includes boats, fishing equipment, fish cages and fingerlings. He said a marine centre of excellence had been established at the Coast National Polytechnic at a cost of about Sh600 million. The government will keep working with counties, agribusinesses and development partners, including the World Bank, IFAD, IFC and GIZ, on production and agricultural value chains.