Factors Influencing Upgrading Decisions by Actors Along Selected Dairy Chains in Kenya

Dairy production is important in Kenya for human nutrition, income generation, and as a source of direct and indirect employment along its value chain. Despite these benefits, smallholder dairy groups in the country have minimal participation in high value and niche markets for dairy products. In the current study, six value addition groups from two Counties (i.e., Uasin Gishu and Meru) were purposively selected, and simple random sampling employed to pick 274 respondents within the surveyed sites. These comprised 267 smallholder dairy farmers from five self-help groups, and seven members from a self-help group operated by disabled persons who collected milk from farmers within Uasin Gishu County and processed it for resale. Data was collected using structured questionnaires, and analyzed using descriptive statistics and a Probit model. Results show that the decision by smallholder dairy farmers and dairy groups to upgrade and move to higher value dairy chains was significantly influenced by their knowledge of value addition activities and whether they participated in a value addition group. It is, therefore, recommended that for value addition to be promoted and upgraded, small-scale value addition groups need to be facilitated and upgraded in terms of education and training, standardization, registration and management. This will generate more market opportunities for milk produced, and decrease wastage from spoilage within the dairy chains. Keywords: Dairy chains, Probit model, Smallholder, Value addition, Keny

Analysis of Demographic Factors that Influence the Purchasing Behaviour of Goat Milk and Their Implications for a Dairy Goat Breeding programme in Siaya County, Kenya

The dairy goat sector is one of the fastest growing livestock enterprises in Kenya because goat milk is becoming increasingly popular in the country. However, hardly any published studies exist that have utilized consumer purchase information to understand the factors that influence the purchase of goat milk. The current study analyzed consumer characteristics and factors that affected consumer behaviour in purchasing goat milk to serve as the basic data in formulating a marketing strategies for goat milk in Siaya County of Kenya. The research questions were approached in three phases. Firstly, the probability that a consumer purchases goat milk was estimated using a probit model framework. Secondly, a Heckman two-stage model was utilized to depict the relationship of dairy goat expenditures. Thirdly, the study examined the implications of the foregoing for a dairy goat breeding programme. Data were collected through in-depth interviews using comprehensive questionnaires. One thirty one (131) goat milk consumers were interviewed. The parameters of the present study are goat milk consumption, consumer characteristics and demographic factors that influenced the purchasing behaviour of goat milk. Family size, presence of children and elderly persons in the household, and household income influenced the purchasing of goat milk. Overall, income influenced the amount of goat milk to be purchased and, therefore, farmers should be encouraged and their capacity enhanced to target high income markets. Communication campaigns highlighting the benefits of goat milk to the children and the elderly persons could ensure enhanced success of marketing the milk. The findings imply that breeders of dairy goats should focus on improved yields, which will enhance returns from dairy goats. Demographic factors, along with agro-climatic and production constraints, are important to the overall success of dairy goat breeding programmes. Further, the breeding programme should identify the most promising breeds and eco-types under the prevailing production system for genetic selection and their multiplication under improved husbandry practices. Establishing a nucleus breeding scheme on private or government land to supply breeding stock can significantly contribute towards this goal. Generally, policy interventions are recommended to tackle demographic factors that influence the purchasing behaviour of goat milk and their implications for a dairy goat breeding programme. The findings of the present study will be useful to all actors in the dairy goat value chain. Keywords: Purchasing behaviour, Goat milk, Dairy goat breeding programme, Keny

Importance of Employee Welfare and Performance: The Case of the UASU at Egerton University, Kenya

Trade unions play a key role in enhancing employee welfare and performance in organizations. In Kenya, the Universities’ Academic Staff Union (UASU) is a trade union for academic staff in all the public universities, with a Chapter in every university and whose objects include ensuring better welfare for its members. Through a cross-sectional survey, this study examined the contribution of the UASU to employee welfare and the extent of its effects on employee performance. The study was undertaken at UASU Egerton University Chapter, Njoro, Kenya. A representative group of 82 respondents was obtained by simple random sampling from a sample frame of the 435 general members of the UASU. The respondents provided information regarding the contribution of the activities of the UASU to employee welfare and their influence on employee performance. Results indicated that the UASU had different but positive impacts on the variables affecting employee welfare and, consequently, employee performance. In descending order of importance, maternity, pension, housing and medical schemes were some of the benefits from the activities of the UASU. However, availability of recreational facilities received least attention from the UASU. The UASU should, therefore, be maintained and strengthened to further improve on quality delivery of products and services in the University by its members. Keywords: Employee welfare; Employee performance; UASU; Egerton University, Keny

Consumers’ Perceptions towards Goat’s Milk: Exploring the Attitude Amongst Consumers and Its Implication for a Dairy Goat Breeding Programme in Siaya County, Kenya

Although most of the milk consumed in Kenya comes from cows, goat's milk is becoming increasingly popular despite the often negative public perception as evidenced in the literature. Studies on consumer willingness to pay for goat’s milk have revealed that consumers were more willing to pay a premium price to obtain the milk. However, there is inadequate information on consumers’ attitudes towards consumption of goat’s milk, factors associated with this attitude and their implication on a dairy goat breeding programme. By assessing consumer perception, the current study examined consumers’ attitude towards goat’s milk in Siaya County of Kenya, the factors that influenced the decision, and their implications on a dairy goat breeding programme. A snowballing sampling technique was used to select a sample of 84 survey respondents in the County. Primary data was collected using interviews with the help of sets of structured and semi-structured questionnaires. A 5-point Likert continuum scale was used to analyze and rank perceptions of consumers, with one (1) as strongly disagreed and five (5) as strongly agreed. The results showed that consumers’ perception towards goat’s milk was positive. There was a relationship between perception towards goat’s milk and socio-economic factors like age and education. From the findings, it was also evident that the price of goat’s milk and its relative scarcity were barriers to its consumption. This implies that a dairy goat breeding programme is likely to be successful in the study area and in areas with similar production circumstances. Policy interventions are, therefore, recommended to educate consumers on quality attributes of goat’s milk and provision of high value genotypes of dairy goats to farmers in the County to increase the volume of milk supply from the goats and, due to economies of scale, subsequently lower the cost of production and stabilize the market price of goat’s milk. Keywords: Attitude, Consumer perception, Goat’s milk, Breeding programme, Keny

Assessment of Urban Cattle Keeping Patterns and Waste Disposal Mechanisms in Nakuru Municipality, Kenya

Urban livestock production has recorded significant growth in East Africa since the 1970’s. However, proximity to cattle creates potential to public health hazards due to poor hygiene caused by the presence of dung, and flies and parasites that transmit zoonotic diseases. These environmental problems from urban cattle farming threaten both human life and natural ecosystems. The objective of the current study was to assess the patterns of cattle keeping in Nakuru Municipality in Kenya, and identify cattle waste disposal mechanisms in relation to environmental pollution. Through a cross-sectional survey, primary data was collected using sets of structured and semi-structured questionnaires and focused group discussions. To select respondents to be interviewed, stratified sampling was used followed by simple random sampling within the strata. Fishers Exact Formula was then applied to get the 186 cattle keepers that were interviewed. Subsequently, descriptive statistics was used to describe the results, and Chi-square and paired t- tests performed to determine the existence of differences between observations. Results indicate that almost all cattle (80% of the respondents) were found either on owners’ and landlords’ plots. The number of cattle kept on “own land” differed (P<0.005) from that reared on “tenant/ rental” land (t183=7.95, P=0.000). Majority of the cattle were grazed on roadsides/ streets, some under zero-grazing and the rest (10.3%) under semi zero-grazing. Differences existed between various production systems, i.e., zero-grazing vs semi zero-grazing (t77=2.280, P=0.012) and roadside/ street grazing vs semi zero-grazing (t165=3.50, P=0.001). Much (52.2%) of the cattle waste was used as manure for crops, and the rest (10.2%) dumped on the streets, and dustbins, pits and compounds (10.2%).Use of waste as manure on crops differed from giving it away to neighbours, 26.9%, (t145=3.137, P=0.001).Generally, land was a limiting factor that made the cattle keepers opt for free-range grazing system, which exposed the Municipality to cattle waste. Use of manure on crops as the major method of waste disposal was inadequate as a means of disposal, resulting in exposure of the Municipality to a serious problem of cattle waste. The findings of this study provide information that the Municipal authorities, policy makers and cattle keepers would need in terms of managing the menace of cattle waste in the Municipality. Keywords: Environmental Pollution, Cattle Waste, Urban Cattle Keepin

Role of Senior Management Support and Leadership in the Strategic Positioning of Newly Chartered Public Universities in Kenya: The Case of Laikipia University

Generally, University education is recognized as neccesary for socio-economic and political development of society. With this appreciation, Kenya has invested heavily in expansion of University education in the recent past. However, a major pre-occupation of universities in the country today is how to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in a complex and challenging context of the higher education sector. Universities need to strategically re-position themselves to attract and retain students, win research grants and make optimal use of their resources by striving to be efficient and effective, and engaging in continuous improvement to ensure their survival and sustainability. The role of senior management support and leadership in this is core. However, the support and leadership of senior management in strategic positioning of newly chartered public universities in Kenya has not been documented. Through a cross-sectional survey, this study determined the role of senior management support and leadership in strategic positioning of newly chartered public universities. Results indicate that the University’s senior management support was crucial for the execution of strategic objectives of the University. The University’s senior management was at the conceptual and strategic levels that guided policy decisions and controlled requisite resources of the University. If the University’s senior management leadership skills are good, it can provide competitive advantage but loss if inadequate. Human resource management was one of the most critical elements for the University to respond to environmental factors of competition from other institutions of higher learning. Generally, it was apparent that support and leadership of the University’s senior management in the strategic positioning of the University was fairly strong. However, the University’s senior management would benefit more from training on soft skills as well as benchmarking with other universities in the country and the region to improve on the quality of their leadership. The findings of this study provide information that managers of newly chartered public universities and policy makers would need in terms of senior management support and leadership to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Keywords: Senior management, Strategic positioning, Newly chartered public universities, Keny

Environmental Effects of Urban Cattle Keeping in Nakuru Municipality, Kenya

Dilemma exists in Kenya among various urban dwellers and policy makers on whether to promote or prohibit urban cattle keeping. This is due to the intricate nature of the tradeoffs between its benefits and associated environmental hazards. The current study, therefore, sought to assess environmental effects of urban cattle keeping in Nakuru Municipality in Nakuru County of Kenya. Through a cross-sectional survey, primary data was collected using sets of structured and semi-structured questionnaires, and focused group discussions. Stratified sampling was used, with simple random sampling within the strata applied. Fishers Exact Formula was then used to select the 186 cattle keepers that were interviewed. Chi-square and paired t-tests were performed to determine the existence of significant differences between observations. Results indicate that majority (90.3%) of the survey respondents disagreed that cattle waste had any environmental hazards. This was due to lack of awareness among urban cattle keepers on environmental hazards related to livestock keeping in confined areas and close proximity to human beings. Most (82.8%) of the survey respondents who practiced zero-grazing perceived bad odour/ air pollution as an environmental hazard. Similarly, those who grazed their cattle by the roadside or streets perceived bad odour /air pollution and littered streets as environmental hazards. Overall, the type of cattle rearing system was highly associated with environmental hazards. The number of cattle kept, however, was independent of the environmental hazard (P=0.191, ?24=6.109). The heaping of manure in the cattle pen was more likely to contaminate the environment than when given away or applied on the kitchen garden. There were differences in the rating of environmental hazards of cattle waste across levels of education attained by the respondents (P=0.191, ?24= 6.109). However, there were no differences between respondents who deposited cattle waste less than 10 meters away from the household and those who deposited it farther away. Generally, there was no proper cattle waste management procedures in Nakuru Municipality. It is recommended that cattle waste management be decentralized with active participation of organized urban cattle keepers and supported by the public. User pay principle should also be applied whereby urban cattle keepers pay a determined fee for cattle waste collection. This would assist in the sustainability of the decentralized service. The findings in the current study are useful for policy formulation on the management of cattle waste and associated environmental hazards in the Municipality and other areas with similar circumstances. Keywords: Environmental Hazards, Urban Cattle Keeping, Cattle waste, Nakuru, Keny

Analysis of Alternative Pure-breeding Structures for Sheep in Smallholder and Pastoral Production Circumstances in the Tropics

The key issue in this study was to technically compare, through stochastic simulation, different breeding programmes that vary in the level of interaction between breeders and producers. The breeding structures considered were: (i) a single closed nucleus providing seed-stock to village flocks, (ii) a group of commercial flocks running a co-operative (‘ram circle’) breeding programme with no nucleus, (iii) an interactive two-tier open nucleus breeding scheme, comprising a nucleus and a commercial tier - the best males are used within the nucleus while the remainder migrate to the commercial flocks, with no female migration, and (iv) as scheme iii but with female migration between tiers. For the latter two schemes, 100% of the nucleus animals are distributed over village flocks every 3 years. The nucleus is then replaced by a new batch of selected males and females from the village flocks obtained through ‘interactive cycling screening’, based on ‘picking the best phenotype’ in the commercial flocks. Single trait selection was considered, and based on estimated breeding value, using either best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) or the individual’s phenotype as a deviation from contemporaries in the same flock, year and season. The results showed that genetic merit increased slightly and inbreeding decreased significantly with increase in nucleus size. For instance, with BLUP selection and trait measurement on both sexes, and first record established at year 2, a nucleus size of 100 dams with 50 dams mated to each sire resulted in genetic merit of 0.118 units and an average inbreeding coefficient of 0.119 while that with 500 dams gave a response of 0.134 with an average inbreeding coefficient of 0.037. Running one closed nucleus had a 6-24% advantage over a ‘ram circle’ in terms of genetic gain. Decreasing the dam to sire ratio was a simple way to avoid inbreeding in breeding schemes of small size, with very little compromise towards genetic gain or even an increase in the longer term. Relative to a two-tier nucleus (scheme i), cyclic screening of commercial animals for use in the nucleus gave an almost optimum genetic response, while the villagers acquired superior breeding stock in return as an incentive to participate in genetic improvement. Participation of farmers offers them a sense of ownership of the breeding programme, and is likely to make it more sustainable in the long-term. This study provides insight into the advantages and disadvantages of designed breeding structures, especially the ‘interactive cyclic’ breeding schemes, which should be useful in deciding breeding programmes to adopt for sheep in developing countries in the tropics. Keywords: Sheep, Breeding Structures, Selection, Tropic

Fish production practices of smallholder farmers in western Kenya

To be successful, initiatives to improve smallholder fish production should directly address the needs and objectives of the farmers while promoting national use of available fish genetic resources. This study aimed at providing a better understanding of smallholder fish farming systems, the fish types reared, general management, constraints and needs of fish farmers in western Kenya, and discusses their relevance to the improvement of fish farming. A cross-sectional survey employing sets of structured and semi-structured questionnaires, focused group discussions and participant observation were used to collect information from 102 farmers in three selected Counties. On a scale of most to least important, most farmers ranked cattle as first, followed by fish, goats/ sheep, poultry and bee keeping, respectively. Fish were kept mainly for sale whenever cash was needed and for household consumption. Farmers owning Oreochromis niloticus fish were predominant (56.8%) relative to those owning mixed species (Clarias gariepinus, Oreochromis esculentus and Oreochromis variabilis) at 37.3%. Some farmers (5.9%) had no information on the specific species they owned and confused the other Tilapiines with O. niloticus. A range of traits; mothering ability, growth rate, size, survival, hatchability, feed conversion efficiency, adaptability and resistance to parasites were considered equally important and were ranked very highly by the fish farmers. Growth and size ranked as the most important traits. Most farmers purchased their foundation (66.7%) and replacement (61.8%) stocks. No farmer across the Counties reported any incidence of disease outbreak. However, about 93.1% of the farmers reported a strong parasite problem. Predators also seriously affected farmers, where birds (88.2%) and frogs (71.6%) had a major effect. Lack of feeds, finances, skills and fingerlings were ranked, in ascending order, as the most important problems. Generally, initiatives to improve management practices are an overriding priority in smallholder fish production. Improved management will lead to increased productivity in the short-term and foster participation of farmers in the development of long-term fish improvement strategies