| dc.description.abstract | Cattle production provides both marketable and non-marketable benefits. The potential of
cattle to provide such outputs differs by breeds, besides other factors. Emphasis on valuation
of marketable outputs of cattle such as milk, while neglecting the non-marketable functions
like livelihood functions and socio-cultural values provides incorrect estimates of the costs
and benefits of cattle improvement programmes such as crossbreeding. Valuation of the nonmarket
functions of cattle is essential in providing justification for conservation of indigenous
cattle breeds.
This study was set up to determine the economic values of different cattle trait levels and the
relative importance of various cattle attributes/traits in livelihood and socio-cultural
functions; with particular focus on the use of cattle in insurance, dowry and bullfighting
contests. The study used a Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) and a multistage sample of
600 cattle farmers in Kakamega and Siaya districts, Kenya. Data was collected through
personal interviews using semi-structured questionnaires and discrete choice experiments.
Data analysis was conducted by multiple linear regression, discrete choice Multinomial Logit
(MNL) and descriptive statistics.
Descriptive results of this study indicated that the zebu cattle breed was preferred over
crosses and exotic breeds due to its heat and disease tolerance attributes. Also, 91.3% of the
farmers were willing to insure their cattle against diseases, and 71.3% of them felt that the
introduction of an effective cattle insurance scheme would be an incentive for them to keep
more crosses and exotic breeds and to increase their herd sizes substantially. The farmers'
mean Willingness To Pay (WTP) for cattle as insurance was Kshs 344 per year (US$l = Kshs
80). The OLS results showed that the mean WTP for cattle as insurance was higher for male
farmers than female farmers, households with higher monthly incomes, high value cattle and
households with few rural social networks and poor agro-ecological zones. All the
independent variables used in the OLS model were jointly significant in explaining variations
in mean WTP. Results of the contingent ranking exercises revealed that the female animal
for breeding was the most preferred animal type, while the male animal for bullfighting
contests was the least preferred animal type. The discrete choice MNL results indicated that
insurance is a significant role of cattle, but its importance does not outweigh that of traction.
Also, the relative importance of horn size was higher in male animals for bullfighting
contests than for breeding. The relative importance of calving interval in female animals for
dowry was not significantly higher than in breeding, while the relative importance of color
was higher in male animals for breeding than in dowry.
The major conclusions made in this study were that bullfighting contests and dowry payment
were important reasons for keeping cattle, even though their importance did not outweigh
breeding purposes. Also, for male animals, genetic traits such as horn size were more
important in bullfighting contests than in breeding. For female animals, productive traits
especially calving interval and milk yield were more important in breeding than in sociocultural
uses. In terms of cattle breeds, the traits preferred by farmers in this study suggest
that local zebu and crosses of indigenous breeds with exotic breeds were preferred for dowry,
bullfighting contests, insurance and breeding purposes.
This study recommended conservation of local zebu cattle and other breeds that could serve
as insurance. It was also suggested that farmers' awareness levels on the importance of a
cattle insurance scheme should be improved. Furthermore, development and implementation
of breeding programmes should incorporate farmers' preference of traits for different
purposes. Finally, cost-benefit analysis frameworks for crossbreeding programmes should
adapt the WTP approach used in this study. | en |
