The milk processing plant in Malava subcounty will be complete and operational before the end of the year, Deputy Governor Ayub Savula has said.
Speaking at Kimang’eti in Malava constituency yesterday, he said the factory, along with an upcoming industrial park, will spur economic growth in the Northern region.
He said the factory at Tumbeni will create jobs and provide a ready market for milk produced by farmers.
“The milk factory and industrial park to be established in Malava will complement the recently launched Sh1.2bn waste to fertiliser factory at Matawa industrial park in Mumias West subcounty in creating jobs to empower our people,” Savula said.
He said the county government will identify an investor to run the factory once complete through Public-Private Partnership arrangements.
He said the factory is 90 per cent complete. The county government has allocated Sh15 million for dairy development in its 2023-24 budget estimates.
Savula said the projects are in line with Governor Fernandes Barasa's wealth creation pillar to transform Kakamega county.
The county government has been improving local livestock breeds through subsidised artificial insemination and boosting milk production through the one cow initiative, where the county has been distributing dairy cows to farmers.
Under the programme, the county supplies dairy cows to selected farmers, who pass on the calves to others.
This is in preparation for the factory’s sustainability once it commences operations.
The Deputy Governor said developing the dairy, fisheries and poultry subsectors will help farmers diversify and avoid overreliance on only sugarcane farming, which is not doing well.
Savula urged National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula to be impartial when ruling on the controversial Finance Bill, which is set to be tabled today.
He called on President William Ruto to listen to the pleas of citizens, saying the bill has to be amended before being tabled in Parliament for debate.
