The price of milk in Kapenguria Town has escalated owing to the
ongoing drought situation in West Pokot County as residents reckon with
alternatives to supplement their diets.
A spot-check at various fresh milk retail outlets indicated
that a cup usually used as a standard measure for sale, was initially valued at
Sh.20 but now going for Sh30 or Sh35.
According to the residents, there has been a sudden low
supply as the scorching sun continues to burn, especially this month.
“It seems most of the milk suppliers depend on natural
pastures to feed their cows hence the sharp reduction in milk production,” said
Andrew Pkemoi.
Residents are watching the sky and monitoring the weather
updates with anticipation that the rains descend soon but reports indicate that
the long rains will set in during the third week of March according to the
weatherman.
“This means that our animals are going to suffer hence
progressive low milk production. Most farmers still depend on the traditional
forage system with no planned feeding programmes for their livestock hence the
inconsistency in milk production,” stated Pkemoi.
The number of milk
vendors within town has tremendously gone down unlike in the previous months
when the selling points were full of vendors.
The trend has also had an impact on the fermented milk
commonly known as mursik owing to the shortage in supply.
Some milk vendors add value to the fresh milk through
fermenting to make good profits and reduce wastage since a cup of sour milk would fetch Sh15 more without incurring additional expenses apart from
just a lapse of time.
Consumers of fresh milk prefer it over processed milk
available in shops arguing that it is cheaper and multi-purpose, unlike the
pasteurized one which cannot be used to produce creams for cooking purposes.
