Adoption of grade cattle technology in Kenya: A combined farm-level and spatial approach.

The dissertation aims at identifying the determinants of the adoption of grade cattle technology in the specific case of the Kenyan smallholders. Adoption of high grade cows by smallholders is driven by the objective of increased milk production, for both home consumption and sale. Smallholders are believed to have a comparative advantage in rearing grade cows, but constraints to adoption are numerous: the cost of a grade cow is relatively high, and the dairy enterprise is risky. Risks include animal diseases and lack of reliable marketing outlets. Marketing risks are a common preoccupation for smallholders but it is particularly relevant for milk, which is bulky, highly perishable and needs to be sold daily. The main constraint to adoption is considered to be the entry cost and farmers have several ways to finance it. The author participated actively to the collection of survey data in several areas of Kenya that represent a broad range of levels of dairy productivity potential and market access. Two main analyses of the decision to rear grade cows were conducted, both theoretically and empirically. The first approach is static and analyses the decision at the time of the survey. The second approach uses a dynamic and spatial framework. GIS-derived distances are computed and introduced in a duration model in order to control for market access. Time is expected to play a key role in adoption and two time dimensions are introduced: an idiosyncratic time describing the conditions faced by the household at the beginning of the spell and historical time accounting for the changes in the external conditions. Results show that poor access to credit cannot be excluded as a reason for delaying adoption of grade cows. Policy changes over time are also found to play a role in the adoption process, as the reduced availability of reliable market channels and livestock services after liberalisation in 1992 are shown to have shifted down the adoption function

Linking poor livestock keepers to markets

The growing global demand for animal products also offers poor livestock keepers the opportunity to switch from the subsistence to the market economy. Our author gives an account of three approaches in the meat and dairy sector in Africa and Asia with their respective potentials and limitations – and also warns against possible negative effects

Dynamic Changes in Dairy Technologies Uptake in the Kenya Highlands

A number of African countries experienced since the mid 1980s a process of market liberalization that was expected to increase smallholders' access to inputs and outputs markets through the entry of private players. The effect on production, through uptake of improved technologies is however unclear. This paper aims at better understanding the dynamics of dairy technology uptake using a rich dataset of 874 households surveyed at two points of time. Using panel data enables to show the importance of differentiating 'permanent adopters' and 'temporary adopters'. Farmers with large land holdings are those who are able to have improved cattle at the two points of time, while those with smaller land size may not be able to maintain their animals on farm, either due to cash or land constraint. This has important policy implications in light of the current land policy reform that may introduce a lower ceiling to land size. Market liberalization has contrasting effects on dairy technology uptake. Results show that availability of formal milk marketing outlets has a positive effect on farmers' decision to keep improved cattle while at the same time increased level of inputs like concentrates feeding is found in areas with fewer formal marketing outlets. Given the current dynamic nature of the milk market, farmers adopt different strategies and more work is needed to better comprehend the relationship between market liberalization and dairy intensification.Livestock Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, C21, D1, O3, Q12,

Cost of milk production in EADD Tanzanian dairy hubs

Irish Ai

Determinants of adoption of dairy cattle technology in the Kenyan highlands: a spatial and dynamic approach

Adoption of high grade cows by smallholders is driven by the objective of increased milk production, for both home consumption and sale. Smallholders are believed to have a comparative advantage in rearing grade cows, but constraints to adoption are numerous: the cost of a grade cow is relatively high, and the dairy enterprise is risky. Risks include animal diseases and lack of reliable marketing outlets. Marketing risks are a common preoccupation for smallholders but it is particularly relevant for milk, which is bulky, highly perishable, and sold daily. Using a dynamic and spatial framework. this study tests the hypothesis that access to credit facilitates adoption. GIS-derived distances are computed and introduced in a duration model in order to control for market access. Time is expected to play a key role in adoption and two time dimensions are introduced: an idiosyncratic time describing the conditions faced by the household at the beginning of the spell and historical time accounting for the changes in the external conditions. Results show that access to credit cannot be excluded as a reason for delaying adoption of grade cows. Policy changes over time are also found to play a role in the adoption process, as the reduced availability of reliable market channels and veterinary services after liberalisation in 1992 are shown to have shifted down the adoption function