Kenya’s Quality-Based Milk Payments: How Testing Can Affect Dairy Farmers’ Pay
By Daily Report KE | Updated October 9, 2026
Kenya’s dairy sector is expanding a Quality-Based Payment system that links what farmers earn to the quality of milk they supply—not simply the number of litres delivered.
How Quality-Based Payment Works
Under the system, milk can be assessed using measurable indicators such as butterfat, protein content, hygiene and safety standards, absence of adulteration and bacterial load. Farmers who consistently deliver higher-quality milk can qualify for better prices.
Livestock Development Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke said during farmer training in Meru and Tharaka Nithi that the reform is intended to shift the industry from rewarding volume alone to rewarding value.
What Farmers Can Do to Improve Milk Quality
- Provide balanced, safe feed and clean water.
- Maintain good milking hygiene and clean equipment.
- Follow animal-health, treatment and vaccination guidance.
- Avoid adulteration and contamination during handling and transport.
- Work through cooperatives and collection centres with reliable testing systems.
Why Cooperatives Need Testing Equipment
Quality-linked payment depends on trusted measurement. Cooperatives therefore need equipment and procedures that can test milk consistently and explain results to farmers. The government has said it intends to support cooperatives with laboratory equipment as the system expands.
What Farmers Could Gain
Kenya News Agency reported in February that two processors already using quality-based payment were paying above KSh65 per litre for qualifying milk, while more processors and cooperatives were preparing to adopt the model.
The benefit is not only a higher farm-gate price. Better-quality milk can reduce rejection and spoilage and give processors more usable raw material for products such as yoghurt, butter, ghee, cheese and milk powder.
What Farmers Should Ask Before Relying on a Premium
Prices above KSh65 per litre were reported for milk supplied to two processors using the model; that figure is not a nationwide tariff or a guaranteed return. Before changing production costs in expectation of a premium, farmers can ask their cooperative or collection centre:
- Which quality measures are tested and what thresholds determine each price band?
- Can the farmer see the test result for their own delivery and ask for a retest if it appears inconsistent?
- How are rejected or downgraded deliveries handled, and where can a dispute be raised?
- When and how will payment be made, and what additional feed, veterinary or equipment costs are needed to reach a higher grade?
Keeping delivery records, test slips and payment statements makes it easier to compare the promised rate with actual earnings. The value of a premium depends on whether the extra revenue exceeds any extra production costs.
A Correction to the Original Article
An earlier version of this article misspelled the Livestock Development Principal Secretary’s surname as “Mweke.” The correct name is Jonathan Mueke. Daily Report KE has corrected the error.
