NAIROBI, July 25 (Xinhua) — Experts began a three-day meeting in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Wednesday to discuss ways of boosting the dairy sector in Africa.
The Dairy Tech Africa conference gathered more than 100 exhibitors and 500 delegates composed of officials from United Nations agencies, senior government officials from across Africa, and dairy industry experts to exchange views on the latest technological advancements in the dairy sector.
Jonathan Mueke, principal secretary in the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, said that the country produced about 5.2 billion liters of milk in 2023, of which only 40 percent was consumed after value addition.
“We want to increase access to machinery so that at least 60 percent of the milk is processed so that the sector can expand,” Mueke said.
Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicate that the dairy sector supports about 1.8 million smallholder farmers and contributes to about 4.5 percent of the economy.
The Kenyan official noted that value addition to generate products such as butter and yoghurt will also help reduce the level of post-harvest losses of milk.
Tipo Tito Nyabenyi, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) acting representative in Kenya, said that the conference will provide a platform for Africa’s dairy sector to interact with the latest technology that can help expand the continent’s milk sector.
Nyabenyi urged Africa to tap into the continent’s huge land and livestock sector to reduce imports of dairy products into Africa.
Margaret Kibogy, chief executive officer of the Kenya Dairy Board, said that the country has rolled out a number of incentives including tax holidays in order to attract more investment into the dairy sector.
