PROJECT DURATION
1 January 2025 to 31 December 2026
GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE
Kenya (Kiambu County)
SECTOR
Agri-food and Agribusiness - Dairy Value Chain
About
Kenya’s dairy sector is vital to rural livelihoods and national food security, with smallholder farmers producing over 80% of the country’s milk. However, systemic challenges—low productivity, endemic livestock diseases, poor milk quality, limited youth and women engagement, and high production costs—continue to limit its potential. The Pathways to Profitable Dairy Farming project was launched as a Public-Private-Development Partnership (PPDP) to address these constraints. Led by UNIDO in collaboration with Tetra Pak, Githunguri Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society (GDFCS), and the Government of Kenya, the project aims to strengthen the dairy value chain by enhancing skills, improving farm profitability, and fostering inclusive and sustainable dairy practices.
Project
Timeline
The initial project year will lay the groundwork by conducting extensive market system analysis and testing a pilot program. One of the significant milestones within this period is the launch of the Dairy Academy and Model Farm at Githunguri, which will be a centre of excellence for training cooperative leaders, extension agents, and smallholder farmers. The academy will provide technical training in animal health, farm management, recordkeeping, and business skills, guaranteeing active involvement of women and youths.
As part of building the academy, a Market Systems Development analysis will determine reasons for systemic issues like low productivity, latent markets, and inefficient disease management. Research and evidence gathered during this stage will assist in creating informed, evidence-based interventions. Plans for preparing the development of infrastructure, biosecurity upgrades, and plans for making farming more financially astute will also be initiated from the project. These utilise scalable approaches to maximise farmers’ benefits and push the industry towards sustainability.
The second year will solidify the advancements of the first year in expanding and developing the project’s impact. It will involve full roll-out of the Dairy Academy training initiatives, increased farmer engagement, and improved support mechanisms like veterinary services, access to finance, and feed production.
There will also be a focus on scaling up successful methods to other areas than Githunguri through collaborations with national and county-level partners. The academy will be a centre of training and knowledge transfer on a national basis, disseminating best practice to other nations. Furthermore, the project will increase policy harmonisation, particularly for disease control and quality assurance, and reinforce private sector involvement to support financial and institutional sustainability upon project completion.
EXPECTED RESULTS
- Train over 10,000 smallholder farmers, with a focus on women (40%) and youth (30%)
- Set up a Dairy Academy and demonstration farm at Githunguri as a centre of excellence.
- Build the capacity of extension agents and cooperative leaders.
- Improve adherence to milk quality standards among GDFCS suppliers.
- Upgrade strategic milk collection and processing assets.
- Promote climate-smart strategies for lower emissions and greater resilience.
- Work with national and county stakeholders to scale up proven solutions.
- Build the foundation for long-term replication and financial sustainability of the academy.
PARTNERS
- Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) through the Embassy of Sweden
- Tetra Pak Food for Development
- Githunguri Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society (GDFCS)
- Ministry of Investment Trade and Industry (MITI)