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NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Nairobian

Thinking about dairy goat farming? Diversification seems to offer lifeline

Livestock

By Lydiah Nyawira | Aug 28, 2020

**Currently Wacuka maintains a herd of 20 goats that are on a feeding diet of napier grass, maize germ and local weeds.**

In 1998, Mary Wacuka started her journey into dairy goat keeping a venture which changed her fortunes and transformed her life as a farmer.

At her home in Thangathi, Mukurweini Constituency, her one acre farm is a buzz of activity most days as she tends to her goats and the one cow on her property.

“I visited a farmer’s field day and I was intrigued by the dairy goats that were at the show, I did some research and saved up to buy four goats, and luckily two of the goats were pregnant, each giving birth to twins,” Wacuka explained.

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Surprised by how fast her herd was multiplying, Wacuka reached out to Dairy Goat Association of Kenya (DGAK) for more training and support in nurturing her goats.

She explained that she joined DGAK in 2000 where she learned how to breed and care for her animals as she built zero grazing units for her goats.

“It was a good learning experience because I was able to learn the best breeds for dairy goat farming, and focused on getting the French Alpine and Toggenburg animals,” she explained.

Currently Wacuka maintains a herd of 20 goats that are on a feeding diet of napier grass, maize germ and local weeds.

“I ensure my goats have adequate water and salt to supplement their diets and I also occasionally deworm the animals to maintain their health,” Wacuka said.

Out of her 20 goats only six dairy goats are milked daily, with each producing two litres of milk per day.

Each litre is sold off to her neighbours for Sh60 earning her Sh720 per day, which she explained is almost double what she earns from her one cow which is Sh360 per day.

**The sale of goat manure which she claimed is very good for coffee farming, brings in at least Sh8,000.**

“I believe my six goats earn me more than one cow, and the cost of production is low compared to that of a cow, and with the small size of my land, the goats are economical to keep,” she noted.

She explained that the dairy goats also provide her with an alternative source of income when sold off.

“I am able to earn as much as Sh20,000 per sale of goats and during the festive season when goats are in demand I can pocket at least Sh100,000,” she explained.

The sale of goat manure which she claimed is very good for coffee farming, brings in at least Sh8,000.

The diverse sources of income from the dairy goats venture have kept her confident on the sustainability of her activities.

Her sentiments are shared by Ernest Kihangi, a pedigree dairy goat breeder in Muruguru village in Nyeri County.

Kihangi, retired as a caterer at a public university, and used his time to work on his passion for dairy goat farming.

“I focus on the best breeds and have won several medals and awards at Farmer’s field days across the country for the French and German Alpine goats,” he explained.

Milk production on his farm has gone down after the local processor he used to deliver milk to stopped his deliveries.

“I used to sell eight litres of milk to a local processor but now I am forced to consume all the milk, which is why I am focused on maintaining the best breeds on my farm,” he explained.

Kihangi said the sale of his goats is his main source of income with the bucks fetching high prices for cultural ceremonies.

“Pedigree breeding also earns me money as the seed from my goats is sought after across the country, and I maintain very comprehensive records on all the animals on my farm,” Kihangi said.

Both farmers are members of DGAK, an organisation that was formed in 1994, to cater to the needs of the dairy goat farmers in Central Kenya but has expanded to cater to the whole country.

DGAK Technical Mwangi Warui said the organisation had over 500 groups of farmers across the country that were actively engaged in dairy goat farming.

“Initially dairy goat farming was touted as the best option for families in the central region who were facing the challenge of shrinking land sizes due to increased urbanisation and increased population,”Warui said.

DGAK which was government and donor funded encouraged farmers to rear dairy goats as a source of income for families that could not afford the land space or money to maintain a cow.

However one of the challenges the farmers faced was lack of quality breeds due to inbreeding which slowed down the production of pedigree goats, leading to declined milk production.

“DGAK helped the farmer’s access enough semen from German and French Alpine goat breeds that have currently are considered good for milk production,” Warui said.

While most farmers consume the dairy goat milk, efforts to add value to the milk through processing have failed in the sector with most processors shying away from goat milk.

Raka Milk Processors in Nyeri County used to process goat milk into cheese between 2011- 2014, when they had to scale down their operations and now mostly focus on processing cow milk.

Raka Processors Dairy Manager, Sammy Michael Karimi said the company would source 400 litres of goat milk every day from farmers and would pay farmers Sh80 per litre.

However, they had to scale down their production after 2013, after their main market at the Westgate Mall was closed down.

“At least 75percent of our market was to vendors Westgate mall but the 2013 terror attack shut down the mall and this disrupted our niche market which forced us to scale down our production,” he explained.

Currently the processors only purchase 20 litres of goat milk a day and the cheese is still not marketable.

Other challenges to goat milk processing, Karimi noted are the unrestricted importation of goat cheese into the country which is sold cheaper than locally processed cheese.

“We sell our goat cheese for Sh 1800 per kg due to the high cost of production while imported cheese may sell for Sh1200 to Sh 1500,” Karimi explained.

Goat cheese is also a niche market that is affected by competition from cow cheese and cultural consumption habits.

“Not many people consume goat milk or cheese due to their cultural beliefs and also the personal taste. There are perceptions that goat milk smells different from cow milk,”Karimi explained.

He also noted a lack of information on the nutritional value of goat milk has hampered its acceptance in the larger market.

National Chairman Nutrition Association of Kenya Henry Ngethe said the nutritional value of goat milk is digested better than cow’s milk as it contains less lactose, goat milk contains less of alpha s1 casein protein unlike cow’s milk which is associated with allergic reactions.

“There are other micronutrients like magnesium which is 30 percent more in goats’ milk and is responsible for energy production, protein synthesis, muscle and nerve function, blood glucose control and blood pressure regulation in the human body,” Ngethe said.

The magnesium in Goat milk also contains selenium contents with its function in the human body including prevention of cardiovascular disease, thyroid problems, and cognitive decline, which means disorders related to thinking, cancer and improves on libido.