FINANCING DAIRY FARMING IN COAST REGION -KILIFI PLANTATION LIMITED

Agricultural Finance Corporation has financed Kilifi Plantation Limited to purchase dairy equipment to improve dairy production using open grazing method in 2,500ha of land. The farm is located in Kilifi North Constituency, Kilifi County. The project has 1,700 dairy cows which include, Gill breed from India, Brown Swiss, Ayrshire, and Jersey. To enable the animals withstand the climatic conditions of the Coastal region, cross breeding is carried out at 75% Exotic and 25% Indigenous. The breeding entails Artificial Insemination (AI) for first in calf cows and Natural bulls for 2nd parity. MILKING TECHNOLOGY: The farm uses High Pressure Processing (HPP) machine technology, which optimizes production enabling an average of 2,850 litres of milk per day. VALUE ADDITION: The farm is able to add value to the milk by pasteurizing and packaging the milk for sale within the County. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: The farm has contributed significantly to the development of dairy farming in the Coast Region, by training farmers on best practices, bio-gas production and the sale of Heifers and in-calf cows to dairy farmers. EMPLOYMENT CREATION: The farm has 500 employees on permanent and casual basis.