How smallholder dairy systems in Kenya contribute to food security and poverty alleviation: results of recent collaborative studies

Kenya has the largest dairy sub-sector in eastern and southern Africa making available annually an estimated 85-90 litres of liquid milk equivalent per capita based primarily upon well-established market-oriented smallholder dairy systems. As a result dairying (the production of milk for the market) has become a very significant source of income and food for an estimated 625,000 smallholder producer households and for those involved in the marketing of milk, in total some 25% of all households. In addition dairying plays a crucial role in sustaining smallholder crop-dairy systems through its contributions to nutrient cycling. It is these smallholder crop-dairy systems, generally based on the cropping of the staple food, maize, that dominate marketed dairy production and that underpin the competitiveness of smallholder dairying in Kenya. In order to better understand Kenya’s dairy sub-sector and to identify constraints to, and opportunities for, improving smallholder dairying’s contribution to poverty alleviation and to increased food security, a series of sequential studies have been carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute and the International Livestock Research Institute through the Smallholder Dairy (R&D) Project, funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). The research has taken a holistic market-oriented production-to-consumption approach with interdisciplinary teams evaluating dairy systems and the interactions of economics, policy, agro-ecology and technology that define their structure. Within the general framework described through an appraisal of the national dairy industry, detailed analyses of the marketing and production systems have identified promising policy, institutional and technological interventions, some of which are being tested. The results of the studies are presented and their implications for poverty alleviation and food security are discussed

Field schools for Kenyan dairy farmers

Currently over 1000 Farmer Field Schools (FFS) on integrated pest management (IPM) and/or integrated soil management are being successfully implemented in Kenya and many more in Africa as a whole. In 2001, the DFID/FAO project on Farmer Field Schools for livestock began adapting and testing the FFS methodology for animal health and production, focussing on smallholder dairy farmers. Ten pilot FFS have been established in five different agro-ecological zones in central, Rift Valley and coastal provinces of Kenya. This paper discusses the activities of the FFS, and looks into initiating FFS for livestock

Development of smallholder dairying in Eastern Africa with particular reference to Kenya

Large increases in demand for milk and dairy products projected for the next 25 years represent exciting market opportunities for smallholders in eastern Africa. With the exception of Kenya, traditional cattle production systems based on indigenous breeds dominate milk production in the region, yet they contribute relatively little to marketed production, mainly because of poor access to major urban markets. Kenya, which has over 85% of the dairy cattle population, dominates dairy production and marketing in the region. Its per capita milk availability is four to seven times higher than the other countries in the region. The widespread adoption of dairy cattle in Kenya was stimulated by several interacting factors: the conducive policy and institutional environments provided by successive Governments; the presence of significant dairy populations (owned by settler farmers); a sub-tropical geography suitable for dairy cattle; and, smallholder communities who kept cattle and who had milk as an important part of their diet. Today most of Kenya’s 3 million dairy cattle are kept by smallholders in crop-livestock systems in areas of high and medium cropping potential. Generally 1-2 dairy cows (mostly Holstein Friesian or Ayrshire) comprise 50% of the herd, the other half consisting of female calves and heifers. In the high potential areas feeding is mainly cut-and-carry with planted Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and crop residues, especially from maize and bananas, supplemented by forage gathered from common properties around the farm. On average total daily milk output is 10 kg per farm, of which a quarter is for home consumption and the rest sold. In the late 1980s, sales were mainly through local dairy co-operative societies, with some to neighbours. However, following market liberalisation in 1992, marketing channels have diversified. It is estimated that approximately 80% of marketed milk is not processed or packaged, but instead is bought by the consumer in raw form. The factors driving the continued importance of the informal market are traditional preferences for fresh raw milk, which is boiled before consumption, and unwillingness to pay the costs of processing and packaging. Raw milk markets offer both higher prices to producers and lower prices to consumers. In Kenya, therefore, as elsewhere in the tropics, market-oriented smallholder dairy farms are concentrated close to urban consumption centres because the effects of the market over-ride many production factors. Less proximate production occurs only in those regions where there is an efficient market infrastructure. As infrastructure develops, markets become more efficient and urban consumers develop stronger preferences for pasteurised milk, the advantages of proximity will be reduced and production may well move away from intensive peri-urban systems and shift to more extensive systems (as the New Zealand dairy industry illustrates on a global scale). Until these infra-structural improvements occur, and because of the ready availability of cheap human capital (labour) and the relative expense of financial capital, smallholder dairy production and informal raw milk marketing are likely to predominate for the foreseeable future. Consequently it is anticipated that the industrialised model of dairy production, processing and marketing will remain a minor contributor in Kenya and elsewhere in the region

Dairy development in Kenya: the past, the present and the future

Large increases in demand for milk and dairy products in developing countries are projected for the next 25 years. These represent exciting market opportunities for smallholders, such as those in Kenya, which has over 85% of the dairy cattle population in eastern Africa. Currently Kenya’s per capita availability of milk is four to seven times higher than the other countries in the region. The widespread adoption of dairy cattle by smallholders in Kenya was stimulated by several interacting factors: smallholder communities who kept cattle and who had milk as an important part of their diet; a sub-tropical geography suitable for dairy cattle; the presence of significant dairy populations (owned by settler farmers); and the conducive policy and institutional environments provided by successive Governments. Today most of Kenya’s 3 million dairy cattle are kept by smallholders in crop-livestock systems in areas of high and medium cropping potential. Generally 1-2 dairy cows (mostly Holstein Friesian or Ayrshire) comprise 50% of the herd, the other half consisting of female calves and heifers. In the high potential areas feeding is mainly cut-and-carry with planted Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and crop residues, especially from maize and bananas, supplemented by forages gathered from common properties around the farm or purchased from neighbours. On average total daily milk output is 10 kg per farm, of which a quarter is for home consumption and the rest sold. In the late 1980s, milk sales were mainly through local dairy co-operative societies, with some to neighbours. However, following market liberalisation in 1992, marketing channels have diversified. It is estimated that approximately 85-90% of marketed milk is not processed or packaged, but instead is bought by the consumer in raw form. The factors driving the continued importance of the informal market are traditional preferences for fresh raw milk (which is boiled before consumption), and consumers’ unwillingness to pay the costs of processing and packaging. Raw milk markets offer both higher prices to producers and lower prices to consumers. These markets also provide valuable opportunities for rural and urban employment. In Kenya, therefore, as elsewhere in the tropics, market-oriented smallholder dairy farms are concentrated close to urban consumption centres because the effects of the market over-ride many production factors. Less proximate production occurs only in those regions where there is an efficient market infrastructure. As infrastructure develops, markets become more efficient and urban consumers develop stronger preferences for pasteurised milk, the advantages of proximity will be reduced and production may well move away from intensive peri-urban systems and shift to more extensive systems (as the New Zealand dairy industry illustrates on a global scale). Until these infra-structural improvements occur, and because of the ready availability of cheap human capital (labour) and the relative expense of financial capital, smallholder dairy production and informal raw milk marketing are likely to predominate for the foreseeable future. Consequently it is anticipated in the medium term (10-15 years) that the industrialised model of dairy production, processing and marketing will remain a minor contributor to the dairy sub-sector in Kenya and elsewhere in the region

Development of Farmer Field School methodology for smallholder dairy farmers in Kenya

This chapter focuses on an on-going DFID-funded project in Kenya to adapt and develop the Farmer Field School methodology specifically for livestock, and particularly for smallholder dairy production, focusing on animal health and production issues. On-going project activities are discussed, and an overview is presented of the participatory tools for problem diagnosis, the agro-ecosystem analysis (AESA) exercise, and livestock participatory technology Development