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Opening of Sirikwa

John
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History

Sirikwa Dairies & General LTD was officially opened by Hon.Dr. Muhammed Kuti , Minister for Livestock and Development.
As a result of in-depth analysis of market opportunities for high-quality, chilled milk in Sirikwa (Uasin Gishu District) Kenya, the East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) partner TechnoServe concluded that the proposed construction of a dairy chilling plant (CP) in Sirikwa is a commercially viable strategy. The core business of the proposed plant will be bulking and selling fresh, high-quality chilled milk. The primary product will be fresh, chilled milk sold to well-established milk processors, such as Brookside and New Kenya Co-operatives Creamery (NKCC). The cooling plant will meet Sirikwa Dairy farmers’ need for a reliable and organized milk marketing system that ensures sustainable income streams and spurs further development in the dairy sub-sector. The Company also offers small-scale dairy farmers of the Sirikwa Dairy Farmers Business Association (DFBA) the opportunity to become a competitive, profitable producer within the formal Kenyan dairy industry that generates around KSH 77 million in revenue per year. The cooling plant will be farmer owned (initially, a minimum of 10% farmer ownership) and provide smallholder farmers an opportunity to own equity and share in future profits in the form of dividends and bonuses. Independent farmers (neither shareholders in the chilling plant DFBA nor members of a dairy cooperative) in the area are also expected to sell milk to Sirikwa Dairies and receive additional bonus payments. A crucial aspect to the future growth and ultimate success of Sirikwa Dairies is that it operates as a hub of dairy-related, business services – seeds, fertilizers, feeds, artificial insemination (AI), veterinary services, and financial services (especially credit). This strategy will help build farmer loyalty and bring value-added services to dairy farmers, which will increase on-farm productivity and milk volumes. Although some of the five or more active cooperatives and self-help groups under Sirikwa Dairies umbrella operate an agro-vet services store and provides services on credit to farmers, there are no businesses in Sirikwa that unite all of these services into one efficient organization.

Mobile technology unlocking potential of dairy farming and helping farmers run viable business

Standard Newspaper
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Technology

When the mobile phone was first introduced to Kenya back in the late 1990’s it was a seen as status symbol and a highly priced luxury that only the rich could afford. Through the years, mobile phones have evolved from the exclusive gadgets they were to devices with immense capabilities right on the palm. The evolution of mobile technology and the services offered has led to a shift in consumer engagement across many sectors and dairy farmers have not been left behind by the wave. The story of the connected farmer plays out in Sirikwa Dairies that serves thousands of farmers just outside of Eldoret in Uasin Gishu County.The Safaricom application for agribusiness and small holder farmers has enabled the company digitise their entire operations from farmer profiling, communication, milk collection, management of stock and record keeping. Sirikwa Dairies, which began operations in 2010, has 7,724 registered farmers and in any one month about 35 per cent of them actively supply milk. In Kenya, small holder farmers account for over 75 per cent of total agricultural production and nearly 50 per cent of the marketed output. And through innovations like CFA, agribusinesses like Sirikwa are able to do better business with farmers. When the business started making revenues of up to Ksh20million on a monthly basis they realized they needed a digital solution to help them to better manage their records. Once the clerk has keyed in the quantity of milk the farmer has supplied into the application, the information is sent to the web portal.The App provides real time solutions to both the agribusiness and small holder businesses. And because it is linked to M-PESA you are able to make bulk payments to more than 1,000 farmers at a time. Farmers say using CFA has made record keeping much easier. Through the mobile application a farmer can request for services like Artificial Insemination services. Once the field officer gets the requests they make an appointment request on behalf of the farmer and the message is sent to the corporative office. Because the data clerks in the office are able to view everything the clerks have fed into the system in real time, they are are able to then make arrangements for the farmer accordingly. Through CFA, farmers also have access to agriculture and veterinary services. Farmers can get animal feed, chemicals and credit from any agrovet store belonging to the corporative based on their deliveries because the application allows the store clerk to quickly check the farmer’s credit worthiness. As a result of the ease of use and efficiency of the app.


Farmers attending AGM functions.

Maria
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Trends

Sirikwa dairies members attending an Annual General Meeting to fulfill the following duties:
-Approving the financial statements.
-Distribution of profits.
-Discharging the members of the Board of Directors and the President from liability.
-The election of the Chairman, Vice Chairman and members of the Board and the remuneration paid to them.
-The election of the auditor and the remuneration to be paid for the audit.
-Amendments to the Articles of Association.
-Decisions leading to changes in the share capital.
-Share buyback and transferring the company's own shares.
-Decisions on share options.

Every shareholder has the right to participate in a general meeting. One share confers one vote in the general meeting, and resolutions are usually made by a simple majority of votes. Participation in a general meeting requires that the shareholder is registered in the shareholder register on the general meeting's record date, which is eight working days before the general meeting, and that the shareholder registers for the meeting no later than on the day mentioned in the notice of meeting. Shareholders have the right to have matters falling within the competence of the general meeting by virtue of the Companies Act included in the general meeting agenda, provided they demand, in writing, the Board of Directors to do so early enough that the item can be included in the notice of meeting.

Why we chose the name Sirikwa

Maria
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Interviews

The name Sirikwa was chosen to unite all the people of the area that existed in what used to be Sirikwa County Council. It took more than one year to mobilize initial membership of 1800 with a share capital of KES 2 Million. Sirikwa Dairy changed its name to Sirikwa Dairies & General Public Ltd company (SDGL) in 2018 when it was converted into a public limited company. Sirikwa Dairies has over 3,000 shareholders.


Opening of milk ATMs

Peter
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Projects

It is a modern way of selling and buying milk and milk products.A milk vending machine is widely used to dispense milk. The vending machine is capable of controlling the temperature of the dispensed liquids such as milk. The manufactured milk vending machine is easily available at very cost effective market selling price.You can easily buy at a vending machine.


INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY AND CURB CLIMATE CHANGE

Julia
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Economics

The County Government of Uasin Gishu has urged farmers to double their efforts to increase productivity and curb issues of climate change as addressed by the Kenya Climate-Smart Agriculture Project. During the signing of the private extension service providers contract, Agriculture Chief Officer Julius Rotich urged farmers to work and deliver on time and any challenges be addressed before phase 2 of the project.
"We have been privileged to get the funds, let’s utilize them appropriately with the support of the service providers who are competent enough and will deliver quality service,” said Livestock and Fisheries Chief officer Dr Victoria Tarus.