Kenya Cracks Down on Milk Hawking to Boost Safety and Dairy Industry Growth.

Government Targets Unregulated Milk Sales to Protect Consumers and Farmers.

The Kenyan government has launched a major crackdown on milk hawking, declaring the unregulated sale of raw milk a serious public health risk and a barrier to the growth of the country’s dairy industry.

Speaking at the launch of 25 bulk milk coolers at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe delivered a stern warning to brokers and hawkers selling milk directly to consumers.

“Milk hawking must stop. It is dangerous, it is a health issue and it destroys the ability to create value-added dairy products,” CS Kagwe said, emphasizing the dangers posed to families, particularly children, who may consume untested and untraceable milk.

The crackdown marks a major policy shift, aiming to tighten control over Kenya’s booming dairy sector, which is heavily dominated by informal traders operating outside regulated systems. CS Kagwe noted that these networks undermine processors, weaken cooperatives, and deny farmers fair earnings from products like yogurt, cheese, and milk powder.

Strengthening Traceability and Quality

Under the new reforms, dairy processors and cooperatives will be required to strengthen traceability systems, ensuring every litre of milk can be traced back to the producing farm. This initiative aims to improve food safety and reduce the influence of middlemen who resell raw milk without quality checks.

The government is also distributing 230 milk coolers nationwide as part of a Ksh.1.43 billion dairy support program to reduce spoilage, stabilize prices, and encourage farmers to use organized collection systems instead of selling to hawkers. To date, 95 coolers have been deployed, with the remainder expected to reach cooperatives in phases.

Supporting Farmers and Boosting Production

CS Kagwe highlighted other measures to strengthen the dairy sector, including:

Reducing production costs by promoting local cultivation of yellow maize and soya beans for animal feed.

Accelerating dairy genetics reforms through subsidized sexed semen programs, reducing costs from Ksh.9,000 to Ksh.1,000, to increase the number of high-quality dairy cows.

Addressing poor animal welfare practices, urging farmers to provide proper care and space for their cows.

Building a Global Dairy Powerhouse

The reforms aim not only to secure Kenya’s position as Africa’s largest milk producer but also to transform the country into a global dairy exporter. By enforcing quality, traceability, and fair pricing, the government hopes to protect farmers from price crashes and stabilize incomes throughout the year.

The crackdown is expected to create thousands of jobs in milk cooling, transport, veterinary services, and dairy processing, reshaping the dairy economy around sustainability, safety, and profitability.