My name is Jasper Groot Koerkamp. I’m 23 years old and right now I’m studying Agricultural Entrepreneurship with a focus on the dairy sector. In the scope of my specialization (minor) International Livestock Development (AILD), I've been active in Kenya.
As a part of this minor I undertook an internship at SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation) in Kenya. Kenya is a diverse country with a rich history and a vast cultural and ethnical diversity. Nowadays Kenya is an economic boomer, and within the dairy industry, a huge amount of development is taking place.
My adventure started on the 11th of February, 2015. This was the day I left the Netherlands and flew to Nairobi (=the Kenyan capital) to catch another flight to Eldoret. Eldoret is a place located in Uasin Gishu, to the west of the capital. The city was founded by “Afrikaners” (Dutch and German colonial farmers). Approximately 300.000 people live there.
During my internship I worked for the Kenya market-led Dairy programme. Which is a project, partly supported by the Dutch government, that SNV is undertaking to further develop the local dairy industry.
My contribution was mainly to:
- advise local dairy farmers (varying from 20 cattle to over 200 cattle);
- train employees of Practical Dairy Training Centres (PDTC’s);
- develop a tool to calculate the right amount of feed for the cattle.
In conclusion, Kenya is a country full of chances and possibilities, just waiting for someone to come along and seize them. It’s a country where the dairy industry is fully developing and which at the same time also has to specialise.