The aggregation model deployed by cooperatives across the country has enhanced the processing and value addition of agricultural products enabling small scale farmers to attain required quantities and better market prices.
Cooperative Alliance of Kenya (CAK) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Daniel Marube said that small-scale farmers in the dairy, coffee, tea, pyrethrum and sugar sectors have seen their incomes improve over the years as they benefit from the cooperative aggregation model.
Marube highlighted that this year, coffee registered some of the highest prices, with Njuriga and Othaya Coffee Societies in Nyeri paying farmers Sh172 and Sh158 per kilo of cherry, respectively. "Such payments improve the household incomes, improving the livelihood of the farmers.
In dairy farming, Meru Dairy Society is another example of empowerment, recording 195 million litres of milk last year, and paying an average of Sh900 million every month to the farmers after collecting an average of 17 million litres per month.
