Relevance of fodder interventions on dairy farms performance in Kenya; A review

Abstract

The dairy sector is the largest agricultural sub-sector in Kenya, and its share in GDP is approximately 4%. Milk consumption per head of population is one of the highest in Sub-Sahara Africa and stands at 115 litres per person. An estimated 80% of total production comes from smallholder farmers of which about 50% is marketed. Out of this 50%, 25% enters the market as processed milk and value-added milk products. The fodder interventions implemented during Kenya market-led dairy program (KMDP) inception phase confirmed that one of the most important bottlenecks for enhanced competitiveness and growth in dairy sector, is access and availability of quality fodder. This has been achieved through introduction of fodder related intervention which positively influenced milk yield, economic, and reproduction performance of the dairy farms in Kenya. The dairy sector is in agreement that without proper feed and feed rations feeding regimes the genetic potential of the breed remains unlocked, and that good fertility management relies heavily on the animal’s health and feeding. The fodder gap in dairy sub-sector has severe impact on cost price of milk, profitability of the farm enterprise and seasonality in milk supply. Improving fodder conservation and utilisation efficiency through high quality forages and alternative feeding practices has shown the potential to increase farmers’ income through improved milk yield and nitrogen use efficiency.