Rebuilding
Transformed Livelihoods
The
community in Moiben Division of Eldoret East District of Uasin Gishu County is
largely cosmopolitan as it is agricultural. Like many parts of the County, it
witnessed Post Election Violence that destroyed farm assets and resources and
therefore livelihoods. PEV brought the economy of the area to its knees.
The
Government, through the Ministry of State for Special Programmes, with the aim
of contributing to the post election violence recovery and integration process
in the affected areas, identified this community as one among many that it scheduled
to benefit from a number of support intervention programs under The Post
Election Violence Livelihoods Recovery Project. These support interventions are
funded by UNDP Bureau of Crisis Prevention and Recovery.
One
of the most notable and perhaps the cornerstone of these projects is the Karuna
Milk Cooling Plant Project which, one month after its launch, is making good
progress in positively impacting livelihoods in the area. This project is being
implemented in the community through Progressive Farmers Co-operative Society.
Progressive
Farmers Co-operative Society was registered in 1964 and inherited an old
immersion cooler from the white settlers which was generator powered but
remained dormant until the advent of rural electrification in the area in 2009.
It however proved to be uneconomical and was shut down. PEV Livelihoods
Recovery Project in partnership with the Ministry of Livestock Development has
supported the Co-operative to upgrade this facility to a modern cooling plant.
Thanks to this recovery project, the
Co-operative now boasts of a new fully equipped 3000-litre cooling plant, complete
with a compressor unit, 200-litre reception tank, agitator, pump, temperature
indicator unit and an automatic washing unit. Some of the members received
training on the plant technical operation aspects. This plant is already
enabling farmers in the area to maximize on milk production. Its membership has
grown from 300 to 1000 and the Co-operative has since attracted both new
members and milk supply, which has been on consistent rise, from neighbouring
divisions of Cheplaskei and Uswo.
The
dairy farmers in the area have greatly benefited from being able to collect
evening milk too, a thing they previously could not, as processors collected
milk in the morning only. Milk bulking has given them a competitive advantage,
a stronger collective bargaining power and greatly cut on transportation costs.
According to the plant manager Mr. Edward Kipchumba, collecting milk to large
quantities and delivering it in bulk has seen reduction in costs and the
benefits transferred to members as increased milk prices.
“We have been approached by different milk
processing and marketing companies because we can now meet the required hygiene
and cooling standards and can also supply
large quantities of chilled milk directly to their processing plants without
additional checks.” Kipchumba
explains that this has put the Co-operative Society in a better position to negotiate
for better prices on behalf of, and for the benefit of its members. He projects
that the daily milk supply to the cooler will surpass 2000 litres in the next
two months.
Consuming
52 units of power daily, the old immersion cooler was definitely an
uneconomical power guzzler, compared to the new plant which uses only 7 units
of power a day. The new cooler is built to use electricity efficiently,
switching on automatically only when temperatures in the cooler rise and
switching off once they are regulated to the recommended chill. This further
frees financial resources that trickle down to the farmer as good returns for
delivered milk.
The
cooling plant has caused tremendous transformation through direct and indirect
job creation. Currently, it formally employs four members of staff who oversee
the daily operations of the plant. “The youth here have given up their
motorbikes in favour of dairy cows”, explains area Asst. Chief Francis Kirwa,
who further offers that the presence of the cooling plant in the area has
assured the dairy farmers of stabilized marketing strategy for their produce,
encouraging more people in the area to keep dairy cattle. As milk production
rises, youth who still own motorbikes do the business of delivering milk to the
plant on behalf of the farmers and that of delivering animal feed to farms. This
plant is continually creating opportunities for gainful engagement, handing
this community a much needed means of livelihood.
In
a bid to secure long term milk supply, Progressive Farmers Co-operative Society
has established an Agro-Vet outlet that provides animal feed, drugs for the
control of pests and diseases and for the upgrading of breeds through
Artificial Insemination (AI). It has also invested in the acquisition of semen
and in training of two youth from the area, equipping them in the skill of
Artificial Insemination (AI) to provide this service.
Sustainability
of this project depends on the consistent supply of milk in sufficient
quantities. This means that farmers need assistance in other areas like
stocking of quality breed, animal feed, water provision for the animals
especially during dry months and in general animal husbandry. The Government
thus has other important recovery support initiatives.
Towards the provision of water for the
community, Progressive Community dam, which was dug by Major Wellington in the
late 1800, was de-silted in 2011 under the Kazi Kwa Vijana initiative after the
need was identified during a stakeholder’s forum. This was done in
collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and technical support from
the Ministry of Water. The volume of water has increased to an estimated 15,000
cubic meters.
A spring box was also constructed and is
currently providing safe water for domestic use. The catchment area has also
been conserved through the planting of indigenous trees.
Quality
breeds and modern breeding methods are key to high yielding animals. In ensuring
that farmers in Moiben Division get a head-start in owning quality dairy
breeds, The PEV Livelihood Recovery Project in partnership with the Ministry of
Livestock Development identified Progressive Community farmers to benefit from
the Livestock Restocking Programme where 12 in-calf heifers were given to the
farmers. The number of the animals has since risen to 23 and is expected to get
to 35 in the soon coming calving season.
According
to one beneficiary Ms Jackline Anyango, the Livestock Restocking Programme
could not have come at a better time. “When the heifer I was given calved, she
lifted some burden of caring for my family. I delivered the milk she gave us in
the morning to the nearby cooling plant and the evening milk has been enough
for our consumption needs and we sell the surplus.” She says that the programme
has promoted intergration and peaceful co-existence as farmers in the
cosmopolitan area extend the calves to new beneficiaries. She is happy that
neighbours often visit her homestead to buy milk and in the process they get to
appreciate the diversity of the community within which they live. She also
benefited from the construction of low cost temporary housing intervention.
The
Ministry of Livestock Development with funding from the European Union (EU)
through Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is set to roll out a weekly,
four month training through radio beginning August 2012 on 93.6 Milele FM. The
Eldoret East District Livestock Production Officer Mr. Samuel Rotich says that
the Radio training is aimed at equipping participating farmers with knowledge
and skills on animal feed production and general best practices on animal
husbandry and to build their farming capacities. “We will be on hand to monitor
this training closely to ensure that farmers actually benefit from the content
of the radio training and are able to put to practice what they learn, and
ofcourse to assist them where necessary,” he said.
The
ability of a project to meet its operating costs and run, not only
independently and sustainably, but also to break even and grow, is what
determines its success. The Progressive Community has purchased and installed a
KShs 185,000 boiler for the provision of hot water for cleaning the cooler, a
thing that will ensure hygiene. This is a good indicator that the project is indeed
headed in the right direction. The next challenge for Progressive Community now
lies in looking ahead towards building human resource capacities with the aim
of finding ways to add value and directly market their farm produce.
These
recovery projects have not only managed to rebuild transformed livelihoods.
They have also laid a firm, solid foundation on which a more cohesive,
progressive community which realizes the advantage of pulling together,
believes in the virtue of, and in the reward of hard work, will be built.
