Ogola T D O, Nguyo W K, Kosgey I S
Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management, Egerton University, P.O. Box 536, 20115, Egerton, Kenya.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2010 Jun;42(5):875-85. doi: 10.1007/s11250-009-9501-x. Epub 2009 Nov 25.
To augment the incomes of smallholder farmers in Kenya and consequently improve their nutrition and income, many development organisations and policy makers are increasingly promoting dairy goat farming. Among the key organisations supporting the initiative is Heifer Project International-Kenya (HPIK). However, the economic contribution and viability of dairy goats under the HPIK project have not been studied so far. The aim of the present study was to determine the contribution of dairy goats to household income and the performance of the dairy goat enterprise using gross and net margins from dairy goat farming as an indicator of economic viability. A survey covering 71 farmers was carried out in the Coast, Nyanza, and the Rift Valley provinces of Kenya using a set of pre-tested structured and semi-structured questionnaires. Results showed that, on average, the dairy goat enterprise contributed, correspondingly, about 15.2% and 4.8% to the total livestock and overall household income and was viable. Differences in gross and net margins across agroecological zones were attributed to milk prices. Despite the existence of non-viable enterprises in two of the provinces, the few present suggest the possibility of obtaining reliable incomes from the enterprise. Redoubling of effort or re-orientation of production to match the local and external requirements would, however, be necessary. Costs and revenues were similar across the agroecological zones. Farmers with positive gross margins had better milk and stock sales and vice versa. The success of a dairy goat enterprise is attributed to location and good management. Besides, farmers' awareness of the market demands within and outside the community is important in establishing production goals and may be crucial to achieving a positive gross margin.
为增加肯尼亚小农户的收入，进而改善他们的营养状况和提高收入水平，许多发展组织和政策制定者越来越多地推广奶山羊养殖。支持该倡议的关键组织之一是国际小母牛项目肯尼亚分部（HPIK）。然而，迄今为止尚未对HPIK项目下奶山羊的经济贡献和可行性进行研究。本研究的目的是利用奶山羊养殖的毛利润和净利润作为经济可行性指标，确定奶山羊对家庭收入的贡献以及奶山羊企业的经营表现。在肯尼亚的海岸省、尼扬扎省和裂谷省，使用一套预先测试过的结构化和半结构化问卷对71位农民进行了调查。结果表明，平均而言，奶山羊企业分别约占牲畜总收入和家庭总收入的15.2%和4.8%，并且是可行的。不同农业生态区域的毛利润和净利润差异归因于牛奶价格。尽管在其中两个省份存在经营不可行的企业，但现有的少数企业表明从该企业获得可靠收入是有可能的。然而，有必要加倍努力或重新调整生产方向以满足当地和外部需求。各农业生态区域的成本和收入相似。毛利润为正的农民牛奶和牲畜销售量更好，反之亦然。奶山羊企业的成功归因于选址和良好的管理。此外，农民对社区内外市场需求的认识对于确立生产目标很重要，并且可能对实现正的毛利润至关重要。
