Randomized controlled trial on impacts of dairy meal feeding interventions on early lactation milk production in smallholder dairy farms of Central Kenya
Introduction
In developing countries, there are an estimated 1.2 billion impoverished people, and 75% of this population live in rural settings and depend on agriculture for their livelihood (FAO, 2014). To alleviate poverty, the FAO suggests that rural economies need to be more diversified, resilient, productive, and environmentally sustainable (FAO, 2014). During 2010–2012, poverty contributed to chronic undernourishment of an estimated 870 million people, or 12.5% of the world’s population (FAO, 2012). Human health and nutrition can be improved by alleviating poverty through livestock agriculture, which acts as both a source of income and of high quality food (Randolph et al., 2007, Smith et al., 2013). Livestock agriculture can also aid in supporting rural economies by being both productive and environmentally sustainable when managed appropriately (Randolph et al., 2007, Smith et al., 2013).
On smallholder dairy farms (SDF) in developing countries such as Kenya, dairy cattle are an important source of milk for farming families to consume, as well as income through sales of excess milk (VanLeeuwen et al., 2012). Lack of access to resources (such as feed and finances), technology, markets, and supporting organizations leads to lower productivity of SDFs (FAO, 2014). More specifically, many farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa are limited by their lack of knowledge in good animal husbandry and farm management practices, including animal nutrition (Gitau et al., 2001, VanLeeuwen et al., 2012, Nyka et al., 2014). Increased income from enhanced milk sales should follow improved nutrition of lactating dairy cows (Moran, 2005). However, limited field-based research and recommendations exist on the effect of cattle feeding interventions on SDF in Kenya, making it difficult to develop locally appropriate feeding practices to farmers.
Daily milk production on SDF in Nyeri County was reported to range between 5.5 and 9.2 kg/day, without adjusting for stage of lactation (VanLeeuwen et al., 2012, Walton et al., 2012). Despite the low production, SDF account for about 80% of all milk produced by over 3.8 million dairy cattle in Kenya (Wambugu et al., 2011). Despite the dairy farming industry being the largest agricultural sub-sector in Kenya, there is still evidence of under-production on individual SDF (Wambugu et al., 2011).
Zero-grazing farming practices are more common within Central Kenya, where it is more densely populated and farmer ownership of small plots is more common than elsewhere in Kenya (Wambugu et al., 2011). Dairy farms in Central Kenya which employ zero-grazing typically have higher milk production than farms where cattle are grazed, but the profit margin is often lower due to higher costs, so farmers must carefully consider the cost-benefit of feeding concentrates which are the highest cost to farmers (Wambugu, 2011).
The impact of concentrate feeding on milk production is difficult to determine in the field because of the variable quality and quantity of forages fed on SDF, depending upon season, forage management (eg. species, varieties, planting practices, timing of cutting, chopping), income and labour availability (Rufino et al., 2009). On SDF of the Mukurwe-ini Wakulima Dairy Ltd. (MWDL), farmers most commonly feed Napier grass and banana leaves, but also Desmodium, calliandra, sweet potato vines, other fodders, and hay in lesser amounts (Richards et al., 2015). Sixty-percent of MWDL farmers involved in an observational research study also reported having feed shortages in 2013, contributing to the fluctuating levels of fodder availability and quality (Richards et al., 2015).
In order to evaluate the effect of feeding locally produced DM on early lactation daily milk production (DMP) on Kenyan SDF, a feeding controlled field trial was conducted on MWDL farms.
Section snippets
Study site and study population
This study was approved by the Research Ethics Board and the Animal Care Committee of the University of Prince Edward Island, the MWDL, and a partner non-governmental organization Farmers Helping Farmers. Signed consent to join the study was obtained from all participants after the project had been fully explained.
The study was carried out in Mukurwe-ini sub-county of Nyeri County, Kenya, with members of the MWDL from June–September 2013 (early cool dry season to late cool dry season). There
Descriptive statistics
All farms asked to participate in the study agreed to do so (100% response rate). On one farm, the final data collection visit did not occur because it fell outside the study period since the cow calved later than expected. However, missing data occurred in <2% of data points (see subsequent tables) and were considered missing completely at random because there was no noticeable pattern in the small number of missing data (i.e., missing was unrelated to any other variables).
Basic farm
Discussion
This controlled trial addresses the need for field-based research and recommendations on the effect of cattle feeding interventions, especially DM supplementation, on SDF in Kenya. From our study, every additional kilogram of DM fed to a cow in a day, resulted in the production of an additional 0.5 kg/day of milk during the first 60 days of lactation, while controlling for other data collected that could confound that relationship. Furthermore, feeding DM to a cow in the month prior to calving
Conclusions
In the field setting of commercial SDF in Central Kenya, DM substantially improved DMP in early lactation, especially when fed prior to calving. In addition, feeding low-cost high-protein forages had beneficial effects on DMP, which were close to equivalent to feeding DM. Having taller cows helps farmers get higher DMP, therefore educating farmers on the importance of feeding growing heifers well will continue to be important to allow them to grow to their full potential.
Conflict of interest
None.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the hard work of Priscilla Muthoni, Ephraim Mutahi, Jessie Wilkins and Genevieve Luca for their assistance in the field, as well as the entire staff at the MWDL for their ongoing assistance and cooperation.
Funding for this project was provided through the Atlantic Veterinary College—UPEI, Farmers Helping Farmers (Canadian NGO), the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, World Agroforestry Centre, and the University of Nairobi. The funding
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