ABSTRACT Ethiopia’s economy is based on subsistence agriculture accounting for 40% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Livestock production contributes 30-35% of the gross domestic product and more than 85% of farm cash income. In this respect, milk production plays a major role in the livelihoods of Ethiopians and it accounts for 19% of the export earnings in the country. In relation to this, Oromia region contributes 40% of the country’s milk production. Despite this importance, milk ...
ABSTRACT This research explores how small-scale farmers in River Njoro Watershed in Kenya allocate resources to production of the main food crops in order to understand the underlying causes of enterprise productivity differentials. The River Njoro watershed stretches from the Mau forest to Lake Nakuru; it is part of the on-going research under the Sustainable Management of Watersheds (SUMAWA), Collaborative Research Support Programme (CRSP). The study was done in the five locations that fall...
ABSTRACT Commercial rabbit production in Kenya is characterized by a long interval of 8 to 12 weeks between kindling and next mating, which yields fewer rabbits for sale to earn income. Changing weaning age regimes can influence the technical and economic results. This study aimed at informing interventions for weaning management by testing associations that weaning age has with feeding practices, market weight, carcass quality and consumer preferences of rabbit meat and profitability. Data ...
ABSTRACT A major challenge to Kenyan Livestock industry today is the inability to produce high quality feeds cheaply. Most of the common sources of protein such as soybean meal, cottonseed cake and fishmeal used in Kenyan feed industry are imported. This makes the final products expensive. To reduce costs, most manufacturers resort to using inferior quality alternatives that result in inferior feeds and leads to slow growing animals. Experiments were conducted to evaluate common beans as an ...
ABSTRACT Indigenous chicken (IC), which have traditionally been an important component of livelihoods among the agricultural households are being integrated into pastoral livelihoods as a diversification strategy. The goal is to reduce vulnerability of ruminant livestock to recurring drought events. However, sustainable utilization of IC could suffer in the absence of adoption of improved management practices supported with access to inputs and output markets and advisory services which supp...
ABSTRACT Pastoral camel management strategies in northern Kenya, characterised by free herd mobility that enables efficient utilisation of rangeland resources, is slowly but progressively adopting restricted camel foraging within the vicinity of urban milk market outlets as seen in Isiolo town. The emerging peri-urban camel production system (PUCPS) has potential livelihood benefits to households but there are emerging pressures that can impede its sustained development and benefits. Key eme...
ABSTRACT Poultry production is one of the animal production enterprises with a promising future in Rwanda as 80.1% of all Rwandese raise chickens. Indigenous chickens (IC) are the most numerous and important species of poultry as they are found in most rural households in Rwanda. Currently, IC potential is underutilized due to the lack of well-defined production and breeding practices; the farmer, marketer and consumers’ breed preferences and traits of economic importance are unknown. The ...
ABSTRACT To improve pastoralists’ livelihoods, Sahiwal cattle breed, resilient and dual purpose in nature with the benefits of both improved milk and beef production and better adapted to harsh conditions in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) were introduced by Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) now Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO). With potential expected increase in milk production, the market profiles are likely to change, yet the underlying factors...
ABSTRACT There is paucity of information on Amaranth as a valuable source of food, medicine and income. In the recent past, the cultivation of Amaranth by small scale farmers in Kenya has been promoted by public extension services, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), research organizations and universities. The extent of relationship between the selected factors such as access to extension services, availability of markets for Amaranth products, availability of certified seeds and consump...
Abstract Feeding trial were conducted in experimental tanks (50 x 34 x 27 cm) to assess the growth responses and nutrient utilization of Walnut Leaf (WL) and Onion Bulb (OB) residues in Clarias gariepinus. Nine experimental diets: control (0%), OB2 (0.5%), OB3 (1.0%), OB4 (1.5%), OB5 (2.0%), WL6 (0.5%), WL7 (1.0%), WL8 (1.5%) and WL9 (2.0%) were formulated and replicated thrice at 40% crude protein. Fish (mean weight 7.39±0.02 g and length 10.37±1.24 cm) were fed twice daily at 3% body wei...
ABSTRACT Nitrogen (N) is the critical plant nutrient. Low maize (Zea mays L.) yields in smallholder farms of Malawi are attributable to declining N fertility, aggravated by the ever increasing price of fertilizer. Maize, the country’s staple, has a high nitrogen demand. Little effort has been made to establish the best nitrogen rate in a maize- cowpea and maize-bean intercrop under variable soil conditions as a way of improving production, and was the objective of the current study. Field ...
ABSTRACT Agro-forestry has continued to receive increasing attention from researchers and policy makers especially in coffee farming systems but there is lack of sufficient evidence on its role in productivity and profitability of coffee farming in Kenya. There is also lack of empirical evidence on whether factors that influence adoption of shade technology have the same effect on productivity and profitability of coffee. The general objective of the study was to examine the adoption of agro...
ABSTRACT Thirty days old rice seedlings of 300 F5:6 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between a salt sensitive, IR29 (indica), and a salt tolerant, Hasawi (indica), were evaluated for salinity tolerance and thereafter QTLs linked to salinity tolerance were identified. Large variation in salinity tolerance among the RILs was detected. Final salinity injury scores ranged from highly tolerant to highly sensitive with a transgressive segregation towards sensitive parent. Howev...
Abstract Among the key uncertainties in the sustainable management of forest for non-timber forest products (NTFPs) is the high diversity of species and paucity of information on indigenous use pattern. In designing appropriate strategies for sustainable management of non-timber forest products, therefore, it is important to identify species with high local importance with the potential for sustainable and profitable extraction in a managed system. In this study, we assessed the use of two q...
ABSTRACT A study was conducted under screenhouse and field conditions at Sokoine University of Agriculture to evaluate the effects of commercial chemical and microbiological products on growth and yields of SITUKA maize variety grown on an Ultisol soil. The study soil had medium organic matter, low available phosphorous (1.02 mg/kg) and very low extractable zinc (0.34 mg/kg) hence the soil was of medium fertility status and only moderately suitable for maize production. Commercial products e...