July 14, 2022

 

Kenyan farmers urged to invest in forage-based dairy output system

 

The Kenyan government, through the Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), has been working with farmers to boost dairy output using improved forages in partnership with the Irish Embassy through the Dairy Kenya Ireland project, Kenya News Agency reported.

 

Through the partnership, a cattle breeding programme has been developed focusing on farm profitability using improved forage-based production that meets above 90% of he cattle's dietary requirements..

 

Dr Eliud Kireger, director general of KALRO, said Kenya is quite advanced in dairy farming, but there are still some difficulties that limit output.

 

He pointed out that as animal feed prices rise, many dairy farmers are being forced to scale back or abandon their dairy operations.

 

He said small-scale farmers with two acres or less make up more than 80% of Kenyan dairy farmers, and they want to help them operate efficiently using readily available pasture-based feeding.

 

The support provided by the Irish government and other partners, he said, has aided in the development of research on livestock systems and breeds that can use the least amount of feed while still producing enough milk for the farmer.

 

Kireger said the goal is to provide farmers with hands-on learning opportunities. The goal of KALRO, a research organisation, is to show that small-scale farmers can raise fodder and dairy animals on a two-acre plot of land while maximising their output.

 

He explained that a small-scale farmer can till two acres of land, plant fodder using a pasture-based system that is significantly less expensive, and spend less than half of what he would otherwise spend on concentrates or manufactured feed.

 

In order to maximise productivity and avoid spending a lot of money on feeds while making little money from the venture, he urged the farmers to use the available fodder.

 

Kireger said that smallholder farmers can learn about practical dairy management at the Dairy Institute's 2-acre demonstration farm, adding that a dairy Innovation Hub has been established to translate research findings into practise for more than 2,000 dairy farmers across five innovation nodes, creating a genuine new link between research, extension, and smallholder dairy farmers.

 

The DG pointed out that the early adopters of the technologies have seen increased milk production of one to two litres per cow per day as well as decreased production costs.

 

Diary accounts for 6% to 8% of the country's GDP, but it is characterised by low-input, low-yield systems that produce significantly less than the national herd potential of four to eight litres per milking cow per day. An additional 3.5 billion litres per year are needed just this year. By 2030, this is probably going to increase to 12.5 billion litres annually.

 

-      Kenya News Agency