Dairy manufacturer intensifies eco-friendly initiatives

Brookside Dairy Promotes Climate-Smart Agriculture for Sustainable Dairy Production

Brookside Dairy, a leading dairy processor in Kenya, is taking significant strides to promote sustainable dairy farming practices. Emmanuel Kabaki, the Procurement General Manager at Brookside, announced that the company is partnering with service providers to implement various initiatives aimed at increasing milk production, ensuring quality livestock fodder throughout the year, and promoting regenerative agriculture.

One of the key initiatives is the setting up of water pans in milk collection areas across the country. According to Kabaki, these water pans, constructed on check-off terms for Brookside's contracted farmers, offer increased resilience to climatic shocks by ensuring water availability during dry seasons. This move is expected to help mitigate the impact of seasonality in dairy production, a threat that Kabaki highlighted as still posing a challenge to the full development of the dairy sub-sector.

Another initiative is the installation of biogas units on farms. Kabaki mentioned this as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and emphasized its importance. The partnership with service providers also includes the provision of these biogas units on farms.

Brookside Dairy is also collaborating with farmers to implement renewable energy and water conservation measures. This collaboration is part of the company's efforts to promote climate-smart agriculture.

In addition, Kabaki highlighted the growth of cooperatives in the Central Rift region as a factor in the success of dairy farming there. Farmers in the region are now able to bulk their milk before selling it to processors, thus accruing the benefits of economies of scale.

Kabaki also urged farmers to grow and conserve adequate fodder for periods of depressed forage to maintain optimum year-round milk production. He emphasized the importance of prioritizing biosafety on farms to prevent the transmission of livestock diseases.

The dairy value chain in the country is currently undergoing a campaign promoting regenerative agriculture for sustainability. This campaign, aimed at promoting practices that regenerate and revitalize the health of soil, water, and ecosystems, is expected to contribute significantly to the long-term success of the dairy sector.

Despite the progress being made, there is still much work to be done. The available search results do not provide specific names of dairy farmers involved in implementing regenerative agriculture, indicating that there may be more to be done to bring these initiatives to a wider audience.

In conclusion, Brookside Dairy's initiatives to promote climate-smart agriculture, coupled with the growth of cooperatives and the implementation of water pans and biogas units, offer promising steps towards a more sustainable and resilient dairy sector in Kenya.