The State Department for Cabinet Affairs’ Principal Secretary, Dr. Idris Dokota, has officially handed over two solar-powered milk cooling units to cooperative societies in Tana River County as part of efforts to strengthen dairy farming in the region. Each unit holds up to 1,000 litres of milk.
The two cooling systems were presented to Hola Milk Vendors and Delta Dairy Cooperatives. Dr. Dokota explained that the equipment is designed specifically to address the twin challenges faced by small-scale dairy farmers in the area — spoilage due to lack of refrigeration and limited access to the national electricity grid.
Speaking at a ceremony held in Hola town, the PS reaffirmed the national government’s dedication to growing the livestock sector through deliberate policies and well-targeted programmes. He noted that the primary goal of the initiative is to help pastoralist farming communities preserve more milk, cut down on losses after harvesting, and ultimately earn higher incomes.
Dr. Dokota revealed that the two units together can handle up to 2,000 litres of milk every day, with a combined daily value of approximately Sh98,000. Over the course of a year, he added, the coolers are projected to save around 730,000 litres of milk worth an estimated Sh35.8 million, while also cutting energy costs through the use of solar technology.
Around 600 farmers are expected to benefit directly from the project, which falls under the broader Livestock Value Chain Support Project. The programme aims to shift smallholder farmers away from subsistence-level production and toward more commercially viable dairy operations by improving infrastructure and opening doors to formal markets.
Beyond income, Dr. Dokota highlighted that consumers would also gain from safer, better-preserved milk with lower risks of bacterial contamination. He argued that consistent milk supply and higher quality standards would have meaningful implications for household nutrition and food security in the region.
He emphasized that for many years, rural and pastoralist farmers had endured significant financial losses tied to milk going bad — largely because of poor cold chain infrastructure and long delays in getting milk to processing facilities. With reliable cooling now in place, he expressed confidence that farmers would feel more encouraged to invest in better dairy breeds, improved animal feeds, and modern production methods.
Dr. Dokota called on more farmers to join cooperatives so they could take full advantage of the new facilities, describing the milk coolers as far more than simple storage solutions. In his words, they represent economic empowerment tools capable of turning milk into a source of wealth, employment, and opportunity for rural communities.
