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The
Kenyan and Dutch governments implemented the National Dairy Development Project (NDDP) of Kenya with the main aim of increasing
milk production for the market. In 1979, the NDDP introduced a dairy farm concept based on ZG (zero-grazing). By
the time the project had ended in 1999, a total of 25 districts throughout the country had been covered and over 10,000 farmers
were involved in either ZG or partial-ZG dairy farming.
The zero grazing concept
The
research component of the NDDP offered a technology package that aimed at addressing the constraints of smallholder dairy
farming in Kenya: lack of grazing land, low productivity of dairy cows, low quality fodder, prevalence of diseases and lack
of money (Valk, 1990; Muma 1994). The package consists of several components:
Housing (the zero-grazing
unit): In the ZG system, the cows are kept inside all year round to prevent tick-borne diseases and other health
hazards.
The introduction of improved dairy cattle breeds. The NDDP recommended that
farmers stock their units with dairy cows that had been graded specifically for their high milk yield. The latter, were not
pure pedigree cows, but cattle with more than 50% ‘exotic blood’. Exotic breeds used for breeding high-milk yielding
cattle were Jersey, Ayrshire, Guernsey, Friesian and Sahiwal.
Breeding and fertility: Farmers
were advised to maintain the dairy breeds by upgrading their stock through artificial insemination using dairy-bull semen.
The production of high-yielding fodder on-farm. In theZG system all fodder is brought to
the animals, as they are not allowed to graze outside. Napier grass, which has the advantage of being relatively easy to grow
and which re-grows rapidly after cutting is the main fodder crop that the project recommended to the farmers.
Utilisation
of farmyard manure and artificial fertilisers to maintain soil fertility. To replenish soil fertility, the NDDP
recommended that farmers recycle all manure on the napier plot every 2 to 3 days. Farmers were also advised to apply 4 bags
(@ 50 kg) of compound NPK fertiliser (20-10-10) per acre per year.
Feeding: The project
advised farmers to plant 0.75 - 1 acre of napier grass per mature cow and her offspring, and to harvest the grass when approximately
60-90 cm long.
Commercial dairy meal was to be given as the main protein
concentrate supplement to the cows at milking time, the quantity depending on the yield of individual cows. Mineral salt lick
was to be offered to thecattle ad lib in the mineral box..
Production of napier grass
Most
ZG dairy farmers have an average of 2 to 3 cows, 1 to 2 heifers and 1 calf. Some have a young or full-grown bull. The majority
of farmers have only 0.4-0.6 acres of napier per cow and her offspring. Farmers do not find this a problem as they supplement
napier grass with crop residues such as maize stalks, sweet potato vines, banana leaves and stems, and molasses.
During times of scarcity, farmers are forced to feed the African Zebu cattle on napier grass as well. This reduces the amount
of napier grass that is available for dairy cows. In times of scarcity the farmers harvest the immature napier grass before
it has grown to 60cm in height. During times of plenty (the wet seasons), the napier grass is neglected and grows to seed
as labour is urgently needed elsewhere on the farm. Farmers then cut napier grass to feed only the high-grade dairy cattle
and not the African Zebu.
Replacing commercial concentrates
Most farmers use commercial dairy
meal. They feed dairy meal to their cows at milking time at a rate of 2 kg per day or depending on productivity. Some farmers
reduce this rate of dairy meal according to the availability of roughage. Several farmers in the district have come up with
‘home-mix’ dairy meal. A typical composition of a 100 kg of home-mix dairy meal is 40 kg sunflower cake, 40 kg
maize grain, 10 kg sorghum, 5 kg soya beans and 5 kg dried cassava chips. The mixture is dried and milled.
Farmers
who use this home-mix, state that they get twice as much milk from their home mix as they do for the same amount of bought,
commercial dairy meal (which is sometimes adulterated with sawdust).
Some farmers have begun using brewer’s
waste (machicha) as a protein supplement. Farmers get this from Kenya Brewers Limited some 40 km from Kisumu town.
They find brewer’s waste cheap to buy even though its transportation is costly. Farmers say that the use of brewer’s
waste as a feeding supplement, ad lib, increases milk production by 7 litres per day.
Fodder legumes constitute
an additional source of protein. Some farmers grow their napier grass mixed with Desmodium spp. Apart from increasing
the protein content of the feed, this also fixes nitrogen in the soil. Fodder trees such as Leucaena spp., Calliandra
spp, and Sesbania spp, are used to increase the protein content of the herd’s diet.
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Use of manure and artificial
fertilisers
Most farmers in Siaya do
not apply fertiliser to their napier. Those who do, apply an average of 39 kg per acre per growing season instead of the recommended
100 kg. Figures on the amount of manure that is returned to the napier plot in Siaya are also much below the recommended amounts.
A bag of fertiliser constitutes a considerable investment, which most farmers prefer to use on cash crops, food
crops or vegetable crops instead of on the napier grass. Fertilisers are also not readily available everywhere in the district.
There is an apparent competition for the application of manure between the napier grass and cash crops, especially vegetables.
Farmers with sufficient manure from their ZG units have expanded farming by growing high-value crops such as vegetables
(kale, cabbage and onions). Some farmers prefer applying the manure to their maize crops.
Farmer innovation
in napier production
A group of farmers is now using a new method to grow napier known as tumbukisa. This
method is a response to the high labour input required by the normal method of growing napier recommended by the NDDP at a
spacing of 3 feet by 2 feet.
With tumbukisa, farmers dig holes of 3 feet by 3 feet and 4 feet deep; they mix the
topsoil with three wheelbarrows of compost manure from the dairy unit and use the mixture to fill the hole.
About
10 cane sets are planted on top of the filled hole in a concentric manner. Top dressing with slurry is carried out every six
months instead of every 2 to 3 days. This method is labour intensive to establish, but requires far less labour to maintain,
as slurry is only applied twice a year. Since the holes are spaced 2 feet apart, some farmers plant sweet potatoes in between.
As applying slurry to the napier plots manually is labour intensive, some farmers have constructed furrow channels
that take the slurry by gravity from the unit into the napier plots, maize and vegetable fields. Some farmers just remove
the dung manually from the unit and heap it somewhere to decompose and form farmyard manure.
Conclusion
Some farmers adopted ZG with the aim of commercialising their milk production. As a result of the project, they set up the
a Dairy Co-operative Society for marketing their milk. The society also advances credit to its members to expand their dairy
farming.
These farmers see ZG as an alternative to the cultivation of coffee, sugar and cotton, all of which are
now less successful in the area. ZG provides them with an alternative way to generate money for household requirements and
to pay for their children’s education.
Others adopted ZG in the first place to obtain manure for crop production.
By buying in nutrients as feed, for examplenapier grass, concentrates or other sources of protein, from outside the farm -
the loss of nutrients due to soil erosion and to the sale of produce at the market - can be compensated. ZG makes it possible
to still keep cattle where good land is scarce. These farmers see ZG as a way of re-establishing the balance between livestock
and crop production, which was largely lost due to a reduction in the numbers of African Zebu cattle.
Source:
LEISA, April 2002
Nelson A.R. Mango, Ph.D student, Department of Rural Development
Sociology, Wageningen University and Research. E-mail: Nelson.mango@alg.asnw.wau.nl or narmango@hotmail.com
References
- Muma M, 1994. Farmers’ criteria for assessing zero grazing innovation in dairy production. Case studies of NDDP
implementation in Kakamega and Vihiga Districts, Kenya. Unpublished MSc thesis. Wageningen Agricultural University.
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Valk Y van der, 1990. Review report of the DEAF surveys during 1988, Naivasha,
Ministry of Livestock Development. |
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