Marketing expert, Victor Thumbi./HANDOUT
Kenya’s dairy sector is navigating “seasons of change” as September brings new challenges and initiatives. While digital innovation and devolution continue to reshape farming and governance, the spotlight this month shifts to climate resilience and community outreach.
Weather forecasts from the IGAD climate center warn of heavy rains and elevated temperatures across the region with parts of western Kenya expecting exceptional downpours in the top 10% of historical records, raising concerns about floods and their impact on agriculture.
At the same time, Kenya’s leaders are pushing ambitious environmental efforts (like a 15-billion-tree campaign by 2032) to combat climate change and reduce carbon stress, recognizing that the country already loses an estimated 5% of its GDP each year to climate-related droughts and floods.
In this context, Kenya’s dairy industry, from policymakers to brands like KDL, is aligning technology, sustainability, and community support to ensure “everyday freshness” translates into long-term prosperity.
At the recent Dairy Tech Africa Expo and Devolution Conference in Homa Bay, one message stood out: digital tools are no longer optional in agriculture or governance.
Mobile apps, sensors, blockchain and e-commerce are streamlining the dairy value chain, while fintech platforms like M-Pesa give farmers instant payments and access to credit.
Counties that invest in ICT see faster gains in service delivery, with Kenya’s near-universal mobile phone ownership making digital governance realistic at every level.
Examples like Nyandarua “Utafitiwafya” health data platform show how evidence-based decision-making can flourish when technology meets devolution. With a youthful population and a vibrant tech ecosystem, Kenya’s dairy sector is well positioned to harness these innovations for sustainable growth.
This month’s headlines also underscore that environmental stewardship is not a side agenda, it’s central to the future of farming.
Climate experts have cautioned that the coming rainy season may bring higher-than-normal rainfall in some regions, even as other areas face dryness.
Such volatility is a reminder that protecting water sources and ecosystems must go hand-in-hand with boosting farm and livestock yields. Rapid population growth and industrial runoff have already strained Kenya’s rivers and lakes; dairy processors know that clean water and a stable climate are fundamental for operations.
The government is responding with large-scale initiatives, from committing to plant billions of trees (to raise forest cover from 12% to 30% and prevent floods by absorbing excess rainwater to creating climate adaptation funds. Meanwhile, farmers themselves are adopting risk management tools.
The uptake of crop and livestock insurance has surged, shielded by public-private programs. In the past three years, the number of insured livestock in Kenya jumped by 730% (from about 78,000 to 649,000 animals), enhancing the ability of 1.6 million pastoralists in 21 arid counties to recover from droughts, disease outbreaks and price shocks.
This trend not only secures farmers’ livelihoods but also encourages investment in productivity, since farmers have a safety net.
As President Ruto (a PhD ecologist) noted recently, economic prosperity “is founded on environmental health and vibrant ecosystems,” and Kenya’s dairy players are taking that to heart.
The writer is a marketing expert
