Good News for Farmers as Ruto Raises Milk Price to KSh 65 Per Litre

President William Ruto has announced a new farmgate milk price of KSh 65 per litre, up from KSh 60, for dairy farmers across the country starting this month.

Speaking during his Mashujaa Day address in Eldoret on October 20, 2026, Ruto said farmers will also earn an extra KSh 2 per litre bonus, accrued monthly and paid out every quarter. He also pledged to clear KSh 400 million in overdue payments to farmers before the end of October.

The President noted that farmgate prices had climbed from KSh 35 to KSh 60 per litre in recent years, while national milk production had grown by one billion litres. He said the latest adjustment is meant to reinforce those gains and improve cash flow for dairy households.

The government also plans to restructure New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (New KCC) by giving individual factories more autonomy.

Under the proposed model, each factory would be owned by farmers in its region instead of being managed centrally from Nairobi, a shift the government says will cut transport costs, improve milk collection and reduce reliance on the Nairobi plant. The State has injected KSh 8 billion into New KCC over the past three years to stabilise its operations.

Ruto cited other gains in the livestock sector. Annual artificial inseminations have risen from 900,000 to 1.28 million, while the cost of sexed semen has dropped from KSh 8,000 to KSh 1,400.

More than 22 million livestock have been vaccinated, and over 52,000 animals have been restocked for 10,000 households in 16 counties. Drought insurance under the DRIVE programme now covers 1.6 million pastoralists in 21 counties.

On trade, he pointed to the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union, the pact with the United Arab Emirates, concluded negotiations with China and the extension of AGOA, with wider talks with the United States still ongoing.

The government plans to import water buffaloes and improved camel breeds as Kenya faces a milk shortage driven by drought.

Source; https://www.facebook.com/tuko.co.ke/posts/pfbid02LND3S3LprUWWnB1rdQZh7c3XgBje427bDkJ5aeFEQmr3bGUd1VvuenzJK6wPFXNhl