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Project 3
Gikanda Dairy

The project had the below Objectives that have been met:

Goal/Objective Improve milk and coee production for the farmers

Expected Output Reduced milk wastage through proper storage

Target Women/Community

ikanda Farmers Co-operative Society is made up of 2,473 registered members. Their main source of income is coee farming. Being a perennial crop, proceeds from coee farming are limited to a season within the year. as such, most of the farmers have diversied their eorts towards generating alternative sources of income alongside coee farming so as to meet their daily needs. Gikanda coee farmers therefore began dairy farming to supplement their coee income. Organic manure from the dairy farm is used to add nutrients to the coee bushes in the farms. However, the dairy society was experiencing challenges losses over the years since they began, mainly because they did not have proper storage facilities for their milk before it was collected. They therefore ended up selling their produce to exploitative middlemen at throwaway prices to avoid their milk going sour. Coee productivity in terms of quality and quantity was also being aected as the supplement organic manure applied on the coee bushes was spread thinner; in-organic fertilizers are expensive and most farmers are not able to aord. With the milk collection quantities dwindling, milk processors no longer found it commercially viable to collect from the dairy society as frequently. In partnership with CMS, TCHIBO provided the funds to construct and equip a milk collection and cooling plant in an eort to alleviate some of the challenges that the farmers were experiencing: Inappropriate storage of milk leading to wastage Reduced milk productivity Reduced farmer income Dairy farmers turning away from keeping livestock Lack of organic fertilizer for use on coee farms

The entire cost of the proposed project is $30,120 and life has not been the same for Gikanda farmers co-operative society. With the new milk cooling tank and collecting centre, the farmers have now started delivering in the evening and the milk is cooled to await the morning collections by the commercial milk processors who have renewed their interest in continuing to trade with the farmers. Other commercial dealers have also approached Gikanda dairy to be their supplier. More farmers are now willing to keep dairy cows and are embracing it as a supplementary source of income. In future, the dairy society plans to diversify towards value addition and process the milk that they collect. This will in turn raise the returns from the business; additional income for the farmers translates to access to better education, improved health and nutrition. They (Tchibo) have brought us from far and now we are not going to turn back. We expect an improvement also in coee production since farmers will now have access to organic manure. Gikanda farmers co-operative society Chairman.

Improved milk productivity as Improvement of sanitation and hygiene for patients Women/ Children/ more coee farmers will be and health facility sta Communit encouraged to keep dairy animals

Gikanda FCS certication