9 January 2007

1 minute read

Africa

During the auction, farmers would sell their animals directly to traders instead of doing so through middlemen, Mr Kiondo said.

The revival of Kenya Cooperative Creameries, he added, has boosted dairy farming making it the highest income earner, followed by potato production.

In a report on the performance of the livestock sector, Mr Kiondo said, farmers were not getting maximum returns as middlemen dictated the prices.

"Farmers do not visit markets in Nairobi, Nakuru, Mombasa, Kisumu and Nyeri to find out the prices, but have to wait for middlemen to buy the animals," he said. Lack of market days, he noted, had denied buyers from other regions a chance to buy animals directly from the farmers.

"Middlemen are only interested in fast-moving products like milk, sheep hair, beef and fur, ignoring the heifers, of which Kenya recently exported over 500 to Rwanda," he said.

Source: The Nation