Factors affecting the use of dairy technologies in coastal Kenya and assessment of their impacts

This study examined the factors influencing adoption of three related dairy technologies in coastal Kenya, and assessed the impacts of dairy adoption on household income, employment generation, and nutritional status of pre-school children. The technologies studied were adoption of grade and crossbred dairy animals; planting of the fodder Napier grass; and use of the infection-and-treatment method of immunisation against East Coast fever. A series of household surveys was conducted from mid-1997 to mid-1998. Results showed that adoption of a grade or crossbred dairy animal can lead to substantial impacts on household income, can generate employment, and can have a beneficial impact on the nutritional status of pre-school-age children in the household. It appears that neither the adoption nor productivity of dairying are constrained by poor availability of technology options. For dairy Development activities on the coast, two areas merit attention: mechanisms for easing access to grade and crossbred dairy cattle, either through credit schemes or through self-help smallholder co-operatives, and reducing the disease risks associated with grade and crossbred dairy animals.