Kenya will host the 15th African dairy conference from Aug. 14 to 16, organizers announced on Tuesday.
Peter Ngaruiya, executive director of Eastern and Southern Africa Dairy Association, said in Nairobi that more than 600 delegates from 45 countries in Africa will attend the event to review ways to address the challenges affecting the dairy sector.
“Over 100 companies from China, India and Europe will also showcase the latest technology in the dairy industry,” Ngaruiya said.
He noted that the three-day conference will be the largest and most comprehensive convergence of dairy stakeholders in Africa.
“It will provide a platform for knowledge sharing, technology transfer and nurturing of business partnerships for regional and international trade,” he added.
He noted that Africa lags behind the rest of the world in milk productivity as most countries produce less than the global average of 3,400 liters of milk per cow per year.
According to the organizer, the continent can address its milk sector challenges through the uptake of technology.
Ngaruiya said that Africa should take advantage of its huge arable land and favorable weather conditions to expand the dairy sector.
“It is unfortunate that Africa is a net importer of milk and milk related products from the rest of the world,” he added.
