Developmental challenges and opportunities in the goat industry: The Kenyan experience

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Abstract

Dairy goat development in Kenya started in the mid 1950s, with the introduction of exotic dairy goat breeds. Major projects to improve the dairy goat sector were not realized until the late 1970s under United Nations Development Programmes (UNDP) funded and FAO executed projects, which lasted until the mid 1980s. The initial projects were mainly government station-based, and aimed at multiplying improved stock for distribution to farmers. Due to several technical, logistical and financial constraints the station-based projects failed to meet their objectives, and by 1996, despite huge financial investments in this endeavour, only a total of approximately 40,000 improved goats were available in Kenya. The farmers were not directly involved and genotype-by-environment interaction issues were not duly taken into account in designing and executing the projects. In early to mid 1990s, the German Development Corporation (GTZ) and FARM Africa initiated new approaches that were community-based and farmer-led in two regions of Kenya. Genetic improvement activities were now based on-farm, as opposed to government stations. Farmers and farmer-group members were rigorously trained on breeding programme designs and management, husbandry, including primary healthcare and were facilitated to run their show with frontline technical support from the NGO's and government officers. In just 7 years, the dairy goat population has risen to more than 90,000 head, hence doubled over the 7-year period. In addition, the improved goat technology is alive with many NGOs replicating the new approach. The community participation in the crucial areas of service provision, animal health delivery, marketing and quality control has strongly influenced this development. The challenges, successes and other experiences of these two Kenyan projects are presented and illustrated by way of a case study as to how simple participatory approaches can actually lead to significant improvement in the livelihoods of the rural resource poor families.

Introduction

Agriculture in Kenya generates 60% of the total foreign exchange earnings, with the livestock sub-sector contributing 42–45% of the agricultural GDP. Small ruminants (sheep and goats) contribute 30% of the red meat, while goats contribute 4% of total milk production. The small ruminants are kept mainly by the pastoralists, while under the mixed crop-livestock farming systems, it the resource poor farmers who keep them. The advantages of small ruminants over their larger ruminant counterparts are many (Devendra, 2002).

The potential of goats and in particular, dairy and dual-purpose (meat and milk) goats, to contribute to improved livelihoods of the resource poor in the more densely populated areas of Kenya was recognized in the early 1980s (Bradford, 1981) and remains high today. However, such potential remain hugely unexploited, owing to the relatively less or wrong research and development approaches and attention, respectively, that this sub-sector has received in the past and to some extent, continue to receive. In the recent past, the dairy and dual-purpose goats have exhibited high rates of population growth, due to more appropriate approaches to their development. This paper presents and discusses the challenges and prospects of the goat industry in Kenya with special emphasis on the dairy and the dual-purpose types, specifically drawing from the experiences of two dairy goat development projects in Kenya in the last decade.

Section snippets

The diversity, size and structure of the goat industry

Kenya has two indigenous goat breeds, the East African goat, found predominantly south of the Equator and the Galla breed, which occurs mainly in the northern regions (Table 1). Kenya's Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development estimates that the two breeds make up to 10 million head. Exotic dairy and meat goats have been imported into the country starting in the 1950s, and more rigorously in the 1970s and early 1980s, albeit with limited success (Okeyo, 1997). Currently the majority of

Challenges and constraints to goat production in Kenya

In line with the global predictions on increased food demand (Delgado et al., 1999, FAO, 2002), and given the current rate of population growth, the consumption of food and agricultural products during the second decade, especially those of animal origin, have to increase at a rate of >4% per year in order for the demand to be met (GOK, 2002). The increased demand must be met mainly from the ASALs given that an increase from Kenya's high potential arable land is limited.

The goat is the

Opportunities

Drawing from the past experiences of community-based goat development programmes, the following opportunities emerge:

  • Being available, community-based service providers, such as the CAHWs, are readily accessible, cheap and offer multiple services (disease outbreaks, market information, performance and pedigree records, advise on general husbandry, etc.); hence such costs are spread out and shared among the farmer-group members. This approach, therefore, should be replicated and encouraged in

Conclusions

Community-bases and farmer-group approaches to improved livestock genetic resource management and improvement, if well thought-out and executed can be successful, and offer opportunities for quick adaptation and rapid adoption of new technologies. Such methods are easily replicable; hence have potentials for positively transforming the living standards of the rural resource-poor is many and fairly sustainable ways, therefore, need should be fine-tuned and promoted in other developing countries.

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This paper is part of the special issue entitled Plenary Papers of the 8th International Conference on Goats, Guest Edited by Professor Norman Casey.

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