International Journal of Innovative Research and Development

Abstract

Rural women play key roles in Kenyan dairy farming. In an effort to establish factors of adoption of dairy farming technologies by rural women in Kakamega County, the researcher sought to determine the already existing technologies among them. The descriptive survey collected both qualitative and quantitative data from Khwisero sub-county, Kakamega County in Kenya. The study targeted 720 female dairy farmers in the cooperative groups in Khwisero. Random sampling was used to sample location and sub-location and to select 72 respondents. The study found several existing technologies; a mixture of the traditional and exotics ones. The main ones however were cross bred cows, improved nappier grass, mullato and sweet potatoes vines implemented on small portion of land. Nevertheless, there was no observed farm household that practiced fodder conservation technologies. Although women in the household’s understudy provided more than 50% of the labour and were usually more present on the farm on a day-to- day basis, the study established that the existing technologies were mostly influenced by the men. Therefore, the study recommended that both women and men be empowerment on the best dairy technologies for their households.

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Abstract

The use of appropriate technologies by rural women dairy farmers would help increase dairy production globally to meet the growing demand for milk and dairy products. This envisioned growth for the industry will not be realized without the adoption and appropriate use of dairy technologies by rural women dairy farmers. Yet the adoption rate has remained low. The study from which the article is based was conducted in Khwisero sub-county, Kakamega County in Kenya in 2017 with an aim to determining better strategies for the adoption of dairy technologies in the location of study.  Random sampling was used to sample location and sub-location and to select 72 respondents from the target of 720.The suggested strategies included improvement on frequency of trainings and methods used and the use of an integrated-multisectoral training approach with information packaged so as to promote gender equity and equality in adoption. In addition, a greater use of more women mentors and rewarding of women role model in dairy farming were recommended. Other proposals included strengthening the capacities of extension officers, understanding gender needs, motivating women to invest in dairy technologies as well as NGOs and the County Government developing a unified approach to disseminate of information on dairy technologies. In other words, the employment of integrated, multisectoral and multifaceted approaches that are inclusive of both men and women were strongly encouraged in the enhancement of dairy farming technologies adoption in the study area.

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