GITHUNGURI DAIRY FARMERS CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LTD

HISTORY

GDFCS ltd was started way back in August 1961 by 31 founding members.

It is located in Githunguri Town, Githunguri District formerly Githunguri Division of the greater Kiambu District, 50 kilometers from Nairobi.  The society draws its membership from the district only.

The society plays a key role in marketing its member’s milk which is marketed under the brand name “Fresha”.

MANDATE OF THE SOCIETY

To collect, process and market members produce and provide extension services to the members.

VISION STATEMENT

Real Farm Freshness for all

MISSION STATEMENT

To maximize stakeholder value by providing high quality dairy brands to the market

GOVERNANCE

The society is governed by a board of directors which consist of nine members elected from the zone.  The directors are elected for a term of 3 years and 1/3 retire     annually.

To guide the business of the society there is a five year strategic plan which is reviewed annually.  The society has board governance manual, trains its board members and adheres to the public procurement act.  The society also holds its annual general meetings where presentation of accounts and approval of budgets is sought from the members to ensure transparency.

MEMBERSHIP

The society has 13,000 active members delivering over 180,000 litres to the society daily.  The society started with one collection centre which has increased to 58 fully computerized centres.

MANAGEMENT

The management team is comprised of highly skilled and motivated staff who have a passion for providing excellent service to the society.  There is continuous training which ensures that the staff are in line with the current market demand and the society is able to retain a high performing team.

STRUCTURES

The society is governed by the Board of Directors and the day-to-day running of the society is manned by a General Manager.  There are various departments namely; Finance, HR & Administration, Sales and Marketing, Production, Engineering, Quality Control, Audit, Procurement and Quality and Extension services which are headed by departmental managers.

SERVICES

In line with our vision to empower the member, the society has brought services to members, these services include:-

1)    Provision of Stores

The society has 44 store outlets spread in the catchment area for provision of animal feeds, animal health products, dairy farm inputs and basic human consumables given to members on credit against their produce which is recoverable monthly during milk payment.  This facility has empowered women since they are able to access credit first as family planners.

The discounts enjoyed due to bulk purchasing are passed to members in form of low prices. 

2)    Artificial Insemination

The aim of the service is to offer efficient services to the members at their doorstep at affordable rates while at the same time availing better breeds for their herds.   These services assist the members to produce milk efficiently and profitably so us to sustain the cooperative now and in future.

3)    Animal Health Laboratory

The society operates a laboratory for animal disease diagnosis and recommends suitable treatment for different strains of bacteria that cause mastitis and other milk related diseases. 

4)    Members Education

The society has invested a lot on the growth and improvement of its members through members trainings.  Members are trained not only on dairy farming but also on the social well being for example, HIV and AIDS, home economics, food nutrition, gender issues and human rights issues.   To ensure that the members are conversant with the workings/operating environment of the cooperative movement, they are also trained on cooperative legal framework, rules and by-laws.

5)    Dairy Extension Services

This emphasizes on practical approach to training especially in key areas that concerns a dairy farmer i.e. farmer-animal housing, dairy cow feeding and feed conservation, hygienic milk production, breeding and fertility management amongst others.  A team of qualified extension officers works closely with members to enable them realize increased quality milk production.

MARKETING

The Fresha brand name was chosen after a careful consumer research and denotes freshness.   Our commitment to uncompromised farm fresh quality dairy products and unrivalled customer service has immensely contributed to our success.

PRODUCT RANGE

The society was able to access a wide market through value addition and a wide range of products.  Our range of products includes; Fresha whole milk (both fresh and long life), Fresha yoghurt, superfine ghee, butter, lala and cream.  The society has captured a sizeable market share i.e. leading in Nairobi with 26% through the provision of high quality brands that competes favorably in the market with leading competitor brands.

BENEFITS OF VALUE ADDITION

Prior to commissioning of the processing plant the society was collecting milk and selling to other processors and hawking the rest in Nairobi.  The selling price per litre used to fluctuate with seasons and could range from kshs.14.00 to kshs.18 per litre.    The selling price goes as high as Kshs.60.00 per litre.  As a result the society is able to pay over Kshs.180,million monthly to its members at Kshs.32.00 per litre hence has made collection to go as high as over 180,000 litres per month.  The turnover is growing to as high as over 4.3 billion per annuam.

Value addition has made the society create direct employment to over 700 employees, self employment to over 13,000 members, 50 hired external transporters earning 6 million per month and over 160 distributors; all these categories with an average of 4 per household.

INNOVATIONS

We revolutionized the dairy industry by packaging milk hygienically in pouch targeting the low market and offering them affordable prices.