Dairy cows. Photo/courtesy.
Tanolope Consultancy Limited is a leading dairy consultancy working with farmers and dairy enterprises across Africa to improve productivity, profitability, and sustainability. The firm provides dairy farm audits, feeding solutions, training programs, and dairy business advisory services designed for both smallholder and commercial dairy operations.
The consultancy was founded by Alex Gathii, a dairy consultant and agribusiness professional with a background in Food Science and Technology from the University of Nairobi. Raised in Tetu, Nyeri County, his early exposure to small scale farming shaped his understanding of the practical challenges facing dairy farmers in Kenya and across the continent.
After university, Gathii worked closely with the late Prof Wangari Maathai as her personal assistant between 2003 and 2008. This experience exposed him to leadership, sustainability thinking, and development focused work that continues to influence Tanolope’s approach to dairy transformation.
In 2009, he joined Agritrace Kenya Limited, where he began his career in dairy consulting and led the e dairy project focused on digitising milk receipts.
“In 2009 I was called and integrated to a project called e-dairy project. It was an exciting project of digitization of milk receipts (E-receipts). That was a project I was heading and I was able to work closely with Agritrace leaders and at that point I was able to get my passport to go abroad and my first client was a farmer who wanted to start a dairy in Chuka,” Gathii says.
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This exposure opened opportunities in dairy value chain consulting and international dairy technology. After facilitating client engagements involving Extended Shelf Life dairy processing systems, Gathii identified the growing demand for structured dairy advisory services and established Tanolope Consultancy Limited.
Dairy Farm Audits and Business Advisory Services
Tanolope Consultancy focuses on improving dairy farm performance through structured dairy farm audits, business development services, and technical advisory support. The consultancy works closely with farmers to assess feeding systems, animal health, farm management routines, and cost structures.
“Our objective is to ensure that dairy entrepreneurs establish profitable ventures by producing high quality milk at the lowest possible cost and position Africa as a competitive milk producer globally,” he says.
Using internally developed tools, Tanolope evaluates farm performance and provides practical recommendations that farmers can implement immediately.
“We do dairy farm visits and training. We provide farmers with online training and when we come to your farm we do an audit using three parameters. We have also developed a 24-hour tool where we will be able to ask you questions on how you do things in your farm for the last 24 hours and within that we will be able to identify the gaps and make recommendations,” he says.
Dairy Feeding Solutions and Milk Yield Improvement
Feeding systems are central to Tanolope’s dairy consultancy services. The firm provides feeding solutions tailored to improve cow health, milk yields, and feed efficiency. Gathii explains that high production costs in African dairy farming are often driven by inefficiencies in feeding practices.
“The reason why we have high cost of production in Kenya is because we have so much deficiencies and inefficiencies,” he says.
Through customised feeding strategies and technical support, Tanolope helps dairy farmers reduce costs while improving production outcomes.
Dairy Training and Knowledge Transfer
Tanolope also delivers dairy training programs aimed at closing the knowledge gap in dairy farming. Its online training platforms and the Tanolope Dairy Entrepreneurship Masterclass serve farmers in Kenya and internationally, including participants from the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States.
“There is a major knowledge gap in dairy sector in Kenya.We provide free information to our clients. When the World Bank and IMF came with structural adjustment programs in early 80ss and 90s, they remove the extension officers in the field. Our Online Tanolope Dairy Entrepreneurship Masterclass has attracted clients worldwide,” he says.
Pan African Dairy Consultancy Impact
Today, Tanolope Consultancy Limited operates across multiple African countries and is recognised for its contribution to dairy farm productivity, training, and agribusiness development. The consultancy’s frameworks are used by model farms and referenced in capacity building programs across the region.
“The whole of Africa only produces 5 percent of the global milk. The rest come from other parts of the world. So Africa is not in the global map for milk production. So I thought, suppose I be remembered for causing the dairy revolution in Africa and making Africa to be the dairy powerhouse,” he reiterates.
Through structured systems, data driven tools and farmer focused solutions, Tanolope Consultancy Limited continues to shape the future of dairy farming in Africa.
