Dairy goat milk is a nutritious income earner, fetching prices as high as Sh200 a litre compared to cow milk which only fetches Sh50 a litre at most. Yet, few farmers have embraced dairy goats due to various challenges, such as lack of market and an acute shortage of buck.
Dairy goat milk is a nutritious income earner, fetching prices as high as Sh200 a litre compared to cow milk, which only fetches Sh50 a litre at most. Yet, few farmers have embraced dairy goats due to various challenges, among them poor access to market and an acute shortage of bucks. However, the future of dairy goat farming in Kenya is bright, if efforts of an initiative by the Dairy Goat Association of Kenya (DGAK) to streamline the sector come to fruit.
Through this initiative, keeping goats for milk is set to become not only more sustainable, but also a lucrative and profitable agribusiness venture that will see farmers smiling all the way to the bank. It aims at raising the population of German Alpine dairy goats to over a million by the end of this year, and is streamlining marketing of its milk. DGAK wants to increase the number of dairy goats per member to five goats, which will make it easier for them to get reliable markets. A few years ago, a group of farmers in Nyeri signed a contract with a Nairobi-based dealer who wanted a minimum of 300ltrs of dairy goat milk per day. The highest they were able to collect was 250ltrs, and the contract was lost. “Buyers want a guaranteed amount of supply, which farmers do not have the capacity to meet. Marketing is still a challenge as most farmers seek individual markets, which results in exploitation by traders. We are implementing a strategic plan to streamline the market,” says Dairy Goat Association of Kenya technical manager, Mr Mwangi Warui.
Inbreeding has also compromised quality and the association is striving to have goat farmers adopt AI services. Introduced in 2013, AI services for dairy goats are currently 30 per cent successful. With improved AI services, the association says, a farmer is guaranteed a minimum of 4litres of milk per day per goat, meaning that with the targeted five goats per household, the farmer will harvest an average of 20ltrs of milk per day, translating into Ksh1,600 (US$160) at the average cost of Sh80 per litre a day.
The initiative will help streamline dairy goat marketing in a country that currently hosts an estimated 200,000 German Alpine dairy goats, largely owned by small-scale farmers. Over the years, development of the industry has faced a number of challenges. An acute shortage of bucks (male goats reared for breeding) three years ago resulted in excessive inbreeding, which affected the quality and quantity. To make the improved breed more affordable and available to farmers, DGAK has contracted model farmers, whose stock is subjected to AI services. They in turn sell bucks to DGAK, which distributes them to other farmers at a reduced cost. “With the upgrade, many farmers are embracing dairy goats because they require much less space than a cow, and are cheaper to keep and manage. Even those living in towns are now able to rear the goat for their daily milk supplies.
Did you know?
Dairy goat rearing is very beneficial for farming families. Apart from the milk which is very nutritious, goat meat is also a delicacy for many households. Goats can also be used to provide manure for the farm and also earn the farmer more income. With limited capital a farmer can start a dairy goat project and be able to reap benefits from it within a short time.
Goat’s milk is good and tasty. It is also easy to drink and is a richer food because it has more calcium, phosphorous and chlorine than cow’s milk. Goat’s milk is better for the family as it has a high utritional content and is a very high quality food and very good for young and old alike.
The International Goat Association (IGA) is the worldwide lobby for the goat sector and was set up in 1982. It has contributed to increase in knowledge of goat farming by fostering conferences, and academic research to determine the production potential of goats and how they can be optimized through the use of proper management practices. Baby goats are kids. Males are bucks, females are does. Neutered males are wethers.
Each goat has her own distinct personality and some personality traits seem to be more common in one breed than in another. Dairy goats love routine and get upset when the routine changes. Goats browse like deer and prefer bushes, trees and hay over grass. Goats are not lawnmowers and will eat your rose bushes. They are ruminants: they have four stomach compartments and regurgitate.
They will eat, chew their cud (the green stuff that comes up regurgitating their food) and repeat that process all day long. A hungry goat will eat things it is not supposed to eat and you will have trouble. Anything the goat eats, will impart a unique flavour on the milk so avoid feeding them spicy stuff. Goats are smart.
Do not let them watch you open a feed can or open a gate latch. You will regret it, because they will practice it behind your back! Bucks are stinky and sticky about 6 months out of the year. Keep that in mind before you buy a buck. You cannot pasture them with the milking goats, because their smell will make the milk taste bad – Source: FAO and Mother Earth News
The future of the dairy goat is very bright,’ says Warui. The association is forging alliances with county governments to support farmers and protect the industry from dishonest traders who brand and sell ordinary goat as dairy goats to unsuspecting buyers.
Genuine dairy goats from the association have a card and mark on the ear. Still, unscrupulous traders have perfected the art of stealing the identification marks and details. These marks are made when the goat is about three months old. Each genuine dairy goat must have a unique entry at the DGAK database for quality assurance. “If one is selling you an old dairy goat yet its mark appears to be very fresh, do not buy it,” says Warui. The small livestock project was initially intended to benefit farmers from Nyeri, Murang’a, Kirinyaga and Embu counties, following a visibility study done in 1989 that identified the shrinking size of farms as a contributor to poverty levels. The project will now be expanded across the country. Expansion was also informed by regional disparities in goat breeding and milk production.
While farmers in Westrn and Nyanza made huge profits from goat milk, those in Mt Kenya region made more from specialised breeding.
“We realised that areas that were not in the initial plan were doing better than where the goats were first introduced. A good example is Nyanza and Western regions that supply the bulk of goat milk sold in Nairobi,” Warui says.
The study had also identified lack of quality dairy goats’ breeding material, technical skills and marketing of dairy goat milk as other challenges. At initiation, the project had only 40 farmer groups, but has since grown to more than 1,500 groups spread throughout the country, with each individual farmer owning at least two goats. According to the project’s technical manager, 120,000 farmers have benefited from training.
“We imported 30 bucks from Germany in 1993 and 40 more in 1994. We were unable to import fresh bucks from Germany after Kenya failed to meet set sanitary requirements. That is why we resorted to imported AI, which is in fact doing better than bucks,” says the project’s technical manager. The first bucks were leased to members at Ksh2,000. Beneficiaries had to belong to a group of between 10 to 25 farmers. Today, leasing charges have risen to Ksh3,000 (US$30). A mature goat sells at between Ksh15,000 (US$150) to Ksh35,000 (US$350) depending on size and region.
We realised that areas that were not in the initial plan were doing better than where the goats were first introduced. A good example is Nyanza and Western regions that supply the bulk of goat milk sold in Nairobi
Dairy goats changing lives in Elgeyo Marakwet
Goats have always roamed the rocky, hilly and difficult terrain of Elgeyo Marakwet’s Kerio Valley with careless abandon, their owners mostly smallholder farmers, only herding them back into pens at nightfall and occasionally slaughtering one for meat.
Other than the occasional slaughter and sale for some little cash, the goats have not been of much economic value. However, introduction of dairy goats in the area a few years ago also brought a change in fortunes.
Today, farmers here are earning something akin to a salary. Getting to Anin village in Kamogich location in the county, is a treacherous event. Most farms are not accessible by road and one has to walk up or descend through difficult hilly terrain, and use narrow footpaths to get to there.
Dairy cows are not common here while milk from the Small East African goat, the most common, is scarce. Families have had very little nutritious food to give to their families.
Now life has changed for many thanks to the German Alpine and Toggenburg goats introduced in the area by the Community Agricultural Development Project in Semi-Arid Lands (Cadsal). Mrs Margaret Tanui currently earns an average of Sh12,000 per month from her goats. She started by keeping one dairy goat in 2006, which has risen to 15 goats.
“So far, I have sold eight goats at an average of Sh10,000 each to farmers from Eldoret,” she says. She has seven German Alpines, out of which four are each producing 3lts of milk daily. They produce 2lts in the morning and a litre in the evening, which is fed to the goat kids. “In total, I get 12lts daily from the four goats. We sell 4lts and the remaining is used at home by the family,” she adds. A litre of goat milk fetches Ksh100 due to its high nutritive value, unlike a similar amount from cows, which retails between Sh40 and Sh60, the farmer says.
I like the goats because they kid twice a year and if you are lucky and get all of them females, then you will be smiling all the way to the bank, because each of them fetches a handsome Sh12,000 to Sh15,000
“From our milk, we earn Sh400 daily, averaging Sh12,000 monthly. I can now afford most of our daily household needs, without help from my husband,” she says. She plans to buy a dairy cow from her earnings to boost her income. Another dairy goat farmer, Philip Kimutai, 42, joined the group in 2009 and currently has seven goats, with three producing 3lts daily.
“I like the goats because they kid twice a year and if you are lucky and get all of them females, then you will be smiling all the way to the bank, because each of them fetches a handsome Sh12,000 to Sh15,000,” Kimutai says. Mrs Mary Kipchumba, 58, says that dairy goats greatly improved her income and boosted the health of her children.
“My children now have a rich source of protein. We no longer have problems paying school fees because the goats help us.” The mother of eight children has sold four goats so far, and earned Sh55,000. Two of her goats are also lactating and produce 2lts of milk in the morning and one in the evening. Currently, she uses all the milk for home consumption. Dairy goat farming was introduced in the area a few years ago by the ministry of Agriculture through Cadsal, a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Technical support project and other non-governmental organisations such as World Vision. It has become a popular venture with farmers, especially along the escarpment and highlands. The three farmers above are part of a group called Chepsamoo Dairy Goat group, which started in 2006. They had sent a request to Cadsal to be considered for support among other dairy goat groups. After vetting, they got the support. The 22 members of the group each acquired goats and were to establish at least quarter of an acre of Napier grass each and then construct a dairy goat house among other things. Goats were sourced from the Dairy goat Association of Kenya.
“Each member kept their own goats but received a uniform training package on dairy goat management by the Cadsal technical team and livestock extension officers,” says Margaret who is the chairlady of the group. The dairy goats have increased to an average of 10 goats per member. Margaret says most of their goats kid twins and occasionally have triplets.
There are six other dairy goat groups in the location, which together with Chesamoo have formed an association, Kamogich Dairy Goat Association.
The association assists farmers in marketing their goats and breeding through buck rotation to avoid in-breeding. Farmers also benefit from training and networking with other dairy goat associations in Kenya
The association assists farmers in marketing their goats and breeding through buck rotation to avoid in-breeding. Farmers also benefit from training and networking with other dairy goat associations in Kenya. They have been following the guidelines of DGAK, concerning with breeding and marketing.
Factors to consider when starting a dairy goat venture
- Goats require a calm, quiet and noise-free land for dairy farming.
- They need sufficient supply of fresh and clean water.
- Veterinary services are key
- Source for high quality breeds like the German Alpine and Toggenburg.
Housing - Keep you goats in rainproof and damp proof housing, free from sharp objects, direct weeds, pests and wild animals. Adequate ventilation inside the house is important.
- An adult dairy goat requires a space of 0.5 to 0.75 square metres on average. Divide the house into two parts: one for sleeping and the other for feeding.
- The sleeping area should be as comfortable as possible, well ventilated, with soft beddings, must have a wall with a door, well-roofed and well ventilated system.
- The feeding area could have a roof but must be fenced all around with a gate. It should have a water trough, feed troughs, slated floors, feed racks and a rainproof mineral block pack area.
Feeding - Dairy goats are fed according to the level of production.
- Farmers should provide sufficient roughages like napier grass and supplements. Napier grass is chopped into about 3cm long pieces.
- Energy supplements like molasses, milled by products like pollard, and bran cereals in their feeds are important.
- For protein supplements, farmers could include calliandra leaves, leucanena leaves, cotton cake, desimodium and dairy meal, sweet potato vines and bean straws.
Dairy goat breeding - The breeding process can be done in two ways, natural breeding and artificial breeding. The ratio of buck and doe for natural breeding of dairy goats is 1:25. Ensure that the buck and the does are disease-free.
- Mate the does after two months of kidding. The breeding buck is introduced to the does and left for 2-3 weeks. The gestation period of goats is 150 days after mating. (Smart Farmer)