Determinants of dairy cattle breed biodiversity in rural traditional smallholder farms: Case of Kibugu in Kenya

Abstract

The livestock biodiversity suffers a threat from human civilization through abandonment and/or intensification of agricultural activities. This paper documents dynamism of dairy breed biodiversity and its determinants. Data was collected by surveying 93 ho useholds and five key informants using semi - structured questionnaires, interviews and observations. The nonparametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to determine the dairy practice frontier on breed conservation. The average farm size was 0.5 - 1 a cres of land and 53.3% of the respondents perceived this to be small for dairying but majority (67.8%) still practiced the enterprise despite also majority (72%) feeling it wasn’t worthy. The 10 - year dynamism indicated that 19% of the respondents intensifi ed on dairying while 13% abandoned the enterprise in favour of other livestock. In a scale of 1 - 6, dairying was ranked 6 as a source of income, 6 as a symbol of society status and 1 on ease of care for the enterprise. Big breeds (Friesian, Ayrshire and Gue rnsey) were perceived highly (6 - 4) as symbols of beauty and society status while small breeds (Jersey and crossbreeds) were ranked highly (6 - 5) on ease of care and disease tolerance . Intensification and/or abandonment of the dairy practice as influenced by societal expectations and/or challenges of farming were noted to be the main determinants of the dynamisms of the breed biodiversity in Kibugu; intensification caused a positive externality on breed biodiversity while abandonment caused the negative exter nality on breed biodiversity. This serves to providing evidence to inform policy decisions that support sustainable dairying in rural areas.