Factors and Diseases Influencing Dairy Goats Production among Small Scale Farmers in Laikipia East District, Kenya

Abstract

Dairy goats are reared in Kenya in order to produce milk, meat and leather and thus improve food security and income of farmers. The dairy goat development in Kenya has been growing slowly although the government initiated several projects in late 1970s in order to improve dairy goat stock for distribution to farmers. The dairy goat sector has also been growing slowly and there is reduced milk production in Laikipia East District although the dairy goats were introduced in 2005 and the District is endowed with suitable climate for dairy goat production. A study was therefore conducted in order to establish factors and diseases which influence production of dairy goats among small scale farmers in Laikipia East District since limited information is available in this area. The objectives of the study were to determine social economics factors, breeding methods and diseases which influence production of dairy goats among small scale farmers in Laikipia East District. The study was conducted using a descriptive survey design and 170 small scale farmers. Questionnaires and interview schedules were utilized to collect primary data from the respondents and data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The response rate obtained in the study was excellent since 167 out of 170 respondents filled and returned the questionnaires The results showed that majority (61.7%, N=167) of the respondents were females and majority (66.3%) of farmers were over 49 years while youth (18-34 years) comprised only 10.6%. Majority (50%) of the respondents had primary level of education. The average house hold size was 7 members and 88.3% of the respondents earned livelihood from the farming only. The results on production showed that majority (53.1%) of the farmers kept Alpine breed while 18.5% of the farmers kept Toggenberg breed. The results indicate that 49.4% of farmers had 1-2 goats in lactation and 43.8% of the farmers did not have a goat in lactation. A total of 54% of the respondents indicated that the average daily milk production per doe was less than 1 liter and 82.1% of the respondents used milk for household consumption. The findings on the methods of breeding showed that 94.4% of the respondents used natural mating of goats while 5.6% used Artificial Insemination (A.I). The first mating age of the does was about 1.5 years. The results indicate that 50% of the respondents were aware of artificial insemination technology while 71.6% indicated that (A.I) technology was not available in most areas of the District. The results on diseases indicate that 52.5% of the respondents had encountered diseases in their flock within one year. The important diseases found in the district included diarrhoea, eye infections, pneumonia, bloat, mastitis, heartwater and Contagious Caprine Pleural Pneumonia. It was only 40.1% of the flock which had been vaccinated against ontagious Caprine Pleural Pneumonia and 30.2% of the respondents reported that they were not aware of the vaccination schedule. The findings on the control of parasites indicate that 57.4% of the farmers dewormed goats after 3 months while 64.8% of the respondents controlled ticks once a week. In conclusion, this study shows that social economic factors, adaption of breeding technology, diseases, and pests influence dairy goat and milk production in Laikipia East District.