Kiambu’s cooperative sector generated more than Sh22 billion in annual turnover in 2025 as savings grew to Sh109.49 billion.
This cemented the county’s position as one of the country’s leading cooperative economies.
Governor Kimani Wamatangi said Kiambu has 917 registered cooperative societies, 444 of which are active, currently serve 703,945 members and hold share capital exceeding Sh6.6 billion.
His speech was read by Cooperatives Chief Officer Peter Ndegwa during Ushirika Day celebrations at Ndumberi Stadium on Saturday.
The governor underscored the role played by the cooperative movement in transforming livelihoods and driving inclusive economic growth in the county.
He attributed the sector’s growth to increasing public confidence, noting that cooperative savings had risen from Sh81.6 billion to Sh109.49 billion in recent years.
“The growth demonstrates the trust that residents continue to place in cooperative societies as reliable institutions for savings, investment and wealth creation,” Wamatangi said.
He said cooperative societies have remained the backbone of Kiambu’s economy by enabling members to mobilise resources, access affordable financial services, improve productivity and secure better markets for their produce. He added this has created opportunities for families to improve their livelihoods.
The governor said the county’s coffee sector produced 10.8 million kilogrammes, generating more than Sh1 billion in gross sales last year and improving household incomes for thousands of farming families.
The dairy sector also remained one of Kiambu’s strongest economic pillars, producing more than 146 million litres of milk annually and generating Sh11.7 billion in sales, with farmers receiving more than Sh6.8 billion from the proceeds.
The county government has supported the cooperatives with milk coolers, pasteurisers, milk ATMs and digital weighing scales to improve efficiency, reduce post-harvest losses and promote value addition.
He said the county has also disbursed Sh30 million through a revolving fund to boda boda cooperatives and organised groups across all 60 wards to improve access to affordable financing and support business expansion.
Wamatangi challenged cooperative leaders to uphold integrity, accountability and sound governance, saying transparent leadership is critical to protecting members’ savings and ensuring the sustainability of cooperative societies.
Githunguri Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society emerged the best overall cooperative in Kiambu in recognition of its contribution to dairy farming, value addition and the economic empowerment of thousands of farmers. The society manufactures Fresha milk products.
Receiving the award, Githunguri Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society chairperson John Ndichu said the recognition reflected the commitment of members, employees and the leadership.
“Our success demonstrates the impact cooperatives can have on transforming livelihoods. Beyond serving our members, we supply dairy products across the country and export to regional markets, showing farmer-owned enterprises can compete at the highest level,” he said.
The cooperative processes about 300,000 litres of milk daily and plans to increase capacity to 500,000 litres through investment in modern technology and expanded production facilities.
It is also establishing a farmer training centre in Githunguri to equip dairy farmers with modern livestock management skills, improved feeding practices and productivity-enhancing technologies.
“The future of dairy farming lies in knowledge. By continuously training our farmers, we expect to increase milk production while improving the quality of the product delivered to the factory,” he said.
Farmers currently receive Sh49.50 per litre and are paid on the fourth day of every month without delays.
Ndichu, however, appealed to the government to review taxes on imported agricultural inputs used in animal feed manufacturing to reduce production costs and improve farmers’ returns.
“We believe affordable farm inputs would strengthen the dairy sector and allow farmers to earn more from their hard work. We are ready to engage policymakers to identify areas where tax relief can make a meaningful difference,” he said.
The celebrations also recognised outstanding cooperative societies including Dimkes Sacco, PCEA Evergreen Sacco, Kabete Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society, NRS DT Sacco, Kingdom DT Sacco, Mataara Sacco and Fundilima Sacco.
Others included Igegania Multipurpose Farmers Cooperative Society, Thiririka Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society, Limuru Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society and Multifarm Dairy Cooperative Society for their exemplary performance and contribution to the growth of the cooperative movement in Kiambu.
