ILRI and Kenya Dairy Board sign agreement to transform the dairy sector ‘from farm to glass’

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) signed a five-year memorandum of understanding to strengthen their existing collaboration and explore complementary research, institutional development, and capacity building opportunities towards transforming Kenya’s dairy sector for the benefit of millions of farmers, business operators, and consumers.

The Kenya dairy sector is the largest in East Africa, contributing approximately 4% to the national GDP and 14% of the agricultural GDP. It is the largest sub-sector within Kenyan agriculture, providing livelihoods for about 1.8 million households and creating over 700,000 jobs. Smallholder dairy farmers are central to the sector, producing most of the country’s milk.

At the signing ceremony held on 12 September 2025 at the ILRI Nairobi campus, the senior leadership of the two organizations expressed their commitment to the renewed partnership that will bridge research and regulation by working at a systems level—from farm to glass—to improve dairy production, processing, market access, and consumer awareness.

The ILRI director general Appolinaire Djikeng said: “As the International Livestock Research Institute, we are really excited to be in this partnership with the Kenya Dairy Board to support the transformation of the agricultural sector in Kenya and to bring the research evidence to support that transformation.”

He noted that the dairy sector in Kenya has great potential, with opportunities for improvement in the areas of animal health, genetics, and milk safety, as well as sustainability in the face of climate change.

“The dairy sector is the heartbeat of rural livelihoods,” said William Kimutai Maritim, acting managing director, KDB.

He added: “Through this partnership, we hope to see the informal dairy sector transform into a more formal structure for increased production and value addition.”

Key strategic areas of the partnership include

• strengthening dairy food systems to provide assurance of milk quality and safety;
• developing institutional and laboratory capacity to improve the quality and safety of milk and dairy products; and
• communicating knowledge and evidence to improve policy and regulatory practice.

MoreMilk project

The ILRI-led MoreMilk: More Milk for Lives and Livelihoods in Kenya project is part of the ongoing collaboration between ILRI and KDB.

The project aims to improve the availability and accessibility of safe, affordable and quality milk to consumers in Kenya by implementing a certification scheme for small-scale informal milk traders to transition into competitive businesses that are compliant with dairy regulations.

The project also promotes gender inclusion by encouraging women’s participation and economic opportunities in the dairy sector.

Reflecting on the project’s science–policy interface, the project co-leads from the two organizations noted that the first year of implementation had been a journey of continuous learning to harmonize research compliance requirements and identify policy innovations to be implemented over the next three years.

Dairy research

Discussions on specific aspects of ILRI’s dairy research focused on market access, productivity, and milk safety.

Isabelle Baltenweck, development economist and leader of ILRI’s People, Policies, and Innovations research program, said that markets should ensure that dairy farmers get a fair price for their milk across seasons. Quality-based milk payment should consider incentives for farmers. Collective action through dairy co-operatives has enhanced dairy farmers’ access to inputs and services. She, however, noted the need to address market access constraints affecting women and youth.

Regarding dairy productivity, Gebregziabher Gebreyohannes, ILRI senior scientist in quantitative genetics and animal breeding, stressed the importance of genetic improvement.

“More milk will come from the right cow,” he said.

Citing the example of the Africa Dairy Genetics Gains project that focused on access to improved genetics, he stressed the importance of accurate data on milk yields to select adaptable, disease-tolerant, and high-yielding bulls and cows.

On the issue of milk safety, Annie Cook, ILRI senior scientist in epidemiology, discussed animal disease challenges and her team’s work on co-developing solutions together with farmers.

She highlighted the need to address milk-borne diseases like brucellosis that not only affect milk production but present health risks to consumers.

“Healthier animals means more milk and more income for farmers,” she said.

Collaboration

Building on these research aspects, the two organizations identified potential areas of collaboration. These include improving fodder quality and conservation, development of a milk residue monitoring plan, risk-based milk inspection, capacity development for inter-laboratory testing of milk, processing aids and animal feeds, knowledge management, and dissemination of information.

Photo: Milk cans at Ol Kalou Dairy Plant, Kenya (credit: ILRI/Paul Karaimu)

Written and curated by Tezira Lore, Communication Officer, ILRI