Smallholder Dairy Herd Management in Kenya

Introduction Kenya has one of the most successful dairy industries in sub-Saharan Africa based on some 3 million cattle of mostly high grade Bos taurus dairy breeds and a relatively advanced milk marketing infrastructure. The main breeds for dairy production are Friesian, Guernsey, Ayrshire and their crosses with the local East African Zebu (EAZ). The EAZ population is estimated at about 10 million, and produces relatively small amounts of milk per cow, little of which is marketed. Kenya’s dairy cattle population make up at least 70% of the total in eastern and southern Africa, a major factor contributing to the per capita milk availability of about 106 kg in Kenya (Table 1) compared to only 20-40 kg milk per capita in most neighbouring countries.