The government has launched a major crackdown on milk hawking across the country, declaring the unregulated sale of raw milk a danger to public health and a major obstacle to Kenya’s dairy industry growth.
Speaking during the flagging off of 25 bulk milk coolers at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Sen.Mutahi Kagwe delivered one of the strongest warnings yet against brokers and hawkers selling milk directly to consumers, saying the practice must come to an end.
“Milk hawking must stop. It is dangerous, it is a health issue and it destroys the ability to create value-added dairy products,” CS Kagwe declared.
The CS warned that millions of Kenyans are consuming milk that cannot be traced, tested or guaranteed safe, exposing families especially children to diseases and contamination.
“If you have young children, feed them quality and traceable milk to avoid health issues such as diarrhea,” he said.
The hardline stance signals a major policy shift as the government moves to tighten control over Kenya’s booming dairy sector, which remains heavily dominated by informal milk traders operating outside regulated systems.
CS Kagwe accused milk hawking networks of undermining processors, weakening cooperatives and denying farmers better earnings from processed dairy products such as yogurt, cheese and milk powder.
Under the reforms, processors and cooperatives will now be expected to strengthen traceability systems by identifying farmers, their production levels and the source of every litre supplied to the market.
