Feeding a productive dairy cow in western Kenya: environmental and socioeconomic impacts

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cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Center for Tropical Agricultureen
cg.contributor.crpLivestock
cg.coverage.countryKenya
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2KE
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africa
cg.creator.identifierVivien Osele: 0000-0002-6846-726Xen
cg.creator.identifierBirthe Paul: 0000-0002-5994-5354en
cg.creator.identifierJessica Mukiri: 0000-0001-7460-1683en
cg.creator.identifierAn Maria Omer Notenbaert: 0000-0002-6266-2240en
cg.placeCali, Colombiaen
cg.subject.ciatLAND USEen
cg.subject.ciatLIVESTOCKen
cg.subject.ciatMODELINGen
cg.subject.ciatTROPICAL FORAGESen
dc.contributor.authorOsele, Vivienen
dc.contributor.authorPaul, Birthe K.en
dc.contributor.authorMukiri, Jessicaen
dc.contributor.authorHalder, Sheilaen
dc.contributor.authorSagala, Titusen
dc.contributor.authorJuma, Alfreden
dc.contributor.authorNotenbaert, An Maria Omeren
dc.date.accessioned2018-10-02T14:51:47Zen
dc.date.available2018-10-02T14:51:47Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/97557
dc.titleFeeding a productive dairy cow in western Kenya: environmental and socioeconomic impactsen
dcterms.abstractSend a Cow (SAC) is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that has been working in Kenya since 1996. It focuses on groups of smallholder farmers, providing them with training in sustainable agriculture and improved animal management. SAC is mostly active in western Kenya, one of the country's most populated and poorest region. The population density for this region ranges from 337 to 1,300 inhabitants per km² with an average density of 590 people per km2 (Kenya Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, 2001; KNBS, 2010). Over 50% of the people in this area are dependent on agriculture and live below the poverty line of US$1/day (Iruria et al., 2009; Makokha et al., 2007). In 2013, SAC started the “Wealth Creation Project” (WCP) in Busia, Kakamega, Siaya, and Bungoma Counties in the Western Province of Kenya. The project aims to increase the agri-production systems of 9,500 smallholder farming families by diversifying their diets and giving them an additional source of income. Farmers are provided with training in animal management and sustainable agricultural practices throughout the project. After comprehensive trainings and farm asset evaluation, farmers were given livestock. The gift of one improved livestock head to each rural, poor family created wealth and security for them, contributing to wealth creation by improving the quality of life and offering a potential pathway out of poverty (Nicholson et al., 2003). The WCP adds to the increasing number of smallholder farmers who keep improved dairy cows as a source of income and financial security. In 2007, it was estimated that 99,000 smallholder dairy farmers in the Western Province were keeping about 192,300 improved dairy cattle (Muriuki, 2011). Land has become the main limiting factor in this already densely populated region, due to continuous population growth and land fragmentation. The small land size per farm (1 acre on average), which is further subdivided in each generation, is a major obstacle to providing adequate energy and protein intake for a dairy cow and a household. Due to limited land size, farmers put most of the available land under food crops and dedicate little area to planted fodder. Researching on the land area that is necessary to adequately feed a productive dairy cow and a family is essential for effective decision making and for training the farmers in sustainable feed production and farm planning. Therefore, SAC collaborated with CIAT in assessing the land requirement for a dairy cow under different feeding regimes and explored the trade-offs of these feeding strategies in terms of food vs. feed land requirements, environmental impacts, and profitability. This research field is a focus area in farming systems research and trade-off analysis, both areas where CIAT has expertise.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.bibliographicCitationOsele V; Paul B; Mukiri J; Halder S; Sagala T; Juma A; Notenbaert A. 2018. Feeding a productive dairy cow in western Kenya: environmental and socio-economic impacts. Working Paper. CIAT Publication No. 472. International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Nairobi, Kenya. 48 p.en
dcterms.extent48 p.en
dcterms.issued2018-10en
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0
dcterms.publisherInternational Center for Tropical Agricultureen
dcterms.subjectsmallholdersen
dcterms.subjectfarming systemsen
dcterms.subjectlivestocken
dcterms.subjectfarmersen
dcterms.subjectlanden
dcterms.subjectmilk productionen
dcterms.subjectmodelingen
dcterms.subjectfood securityen
dcterms.subjectgreenhouse gasesen
dcterms.subjecteconomicen
dcterms.subjectbrachiariaen
dcterms.typeWorking Paper

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