Disseminate improved management practices to reduce mortality and growth rates of small ruminants in the arid pastoral regions of northern Kenya
Increasing pastoral population, anthropogenic activities and weakening of traditional rules and regulations governing resource utilization has led to low productivity of the small ruminants in northern Kenya, which has created shortage of chevon and mutton in the Kenyan markets. The current annual demand for sheep and goat meat in Kenya is estimated at 120,000 MT against estimated supply of 92,000 MT giving a deficit of about 28,000 MT (Farmer and Mbwika 2012, Behnke and Muthami 2012) and (Ndung’u et al. 2003). Market opportunities in the middle-east for live animals have not been fully exploited due to poor condition of the animals available. Studies undertaken in Marsabit (Ndungu et al 2003) indicated that stockowners expressed concern over high mortality and slow growth rates of their young kids and lambs (25-35%). KALRO developed technologies to deal with this problem including appropriate housing, nutrition and strategic deworming. This improved growth rates and reduced mortality rates to less than 10% in test flocks. This project proposes to upscale these technologies to benefit more pastoralists. The following activities are envisaged:
- Production of dissemination materials
- Hold stakeholders workshop to agree and formalize on roles of partners to promote pastoralists access to improved technological packages
- Conduct benchmark/baseline survey,
- Capacity building of partners and TOTs on up and out scaling of improved technologies
- Enhance access of small stock keepers to production inputs
- Develop strategies for proper use and conservation of threatened browsing habitats
- Capacity build small ruminant keepers through field schools and pastoralists to pastoralist exchange learning
- Enhance value addition in the small ruminant product value chain
- Promote market linkages in the small ruminant value chain
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Research Areas
Development of low cost feeding system for finishing of immature stock for meat in rangelands of Kenya
The livestock revolution indicates that the consumption of livestock products will be growing in developing countries including Kenya. Kenya is currently a net importer of meat and meat products and this situation will get worse as income and urbanization grows. Sheep contribute to food production, rural employment and gross national product by converting roughages into meat, wool and skin. There is an increasing demand for mutton for domestic and export for meat.
Under the existing production systems the slaughter weight of sheep and beef in the county is low and age at which it is usually achieved is much higher (>3 years). There is high demand particularly from the youth of a market oriented production system for meat products that reduces the age at slaughter while increasing the market weight of marketed animals. Such a system which involves fattening/raising animals for meat under grazing with supplementation and on enhanced management, should be cost effective. The major advantage of this system is that the farmer would for example, rear the animals only for seven months (in case of sheep) and not for the whole year. He will get handsome profit after seven months, which is at par with the lambs reared for 11-12 months under extensive grazing system. Shorter periods of rearing reduce the risk of mortality before selling. It would also ensure that a “flying herd” operation that sources immatures from the more arid rangeland and finishing them on better rangelands is achieved. The project proposes to develop a profitable grass based finishing ration and management system for production of mutton and beef on kenyan rangelands as one way of commercializing livestock production in these areas. Sub-activities will focus on:
- Development of supplementary rations
- Conducting feeding and management trials
- Determination of profitability of the system
- Packaging and upscaling of technology