Githunguri Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society Limited
The Githunguri Dairy Farmers Co-operative Society has revolutionized the Kenyan dairy industry. Commissioning of a processing facility in 2004 led to an increase in profitability and size. Its Fresha milk is now the leading fresh milk brand in and around the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. Githunguri is Kenya’s third biggest dairy processing company.
The cooperative supports farmers to increase productivity through provision of essential services for dairy farming. It provides additional services to farmers to improve animal health and productivity (e.g. breeding). To improve access to finance and reduce the barriers to accessing credit among farmers while still improving earning for farmers, they have set up the Githunguri Dairy cooperative SACCO. This is in addition to partnering with banking institutions to offer farmers a choice.
Githunguri is focused on lifting the livelihoods of members and has significantly transformed many smallholder farmers into some of the highest milk producers in the country. The co-operative has about 11,000 active members and 26,000 registered members, all within the low income segment. The milk collection centers help the farmers to reduce milk spoilage, and are lowering logistic costs. Githunguri experts support the farmers to improve production and quality of life. The company pays above average market prices of 41.5 KES per liter, compared to the 33 KES minimum price set by the Government.