Factors Affecting Adoption of Dairy Cattle Milk Production Technologies by Smallholder Dairy Farmers in Mosop Sub County, Nandi County, Kenya

Abstract

Dairy industry plays a key role in the development of the Kenyan economy. The development of this sector is viewed as a means of uplifting the rural economy, achieving national self-reliance and ensuring food security in milk and milk products. However, the dairy industry has not thrived well because of poor adoption of dairy milk production technologies. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the factors influencing the adoption of dairy cattle milk production technologies by smallholder dairy farmers in Mosop Sub County, Nandi County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were to analyse socio-demographic, technological, economic and institutional factors affecting the adoption of dairy cattle milk production technologies by smallholder dairy farmers in Mosop Sub County, Nandi County. This study was grounded by the Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) and descriptive and statistical research designs were used to guide the study. The target population was 21,534 smallholder dairy farmers and a sample size of 199 smallholder dairy farmers was drawn from the target population through stratified random sampling technique and used in data analysis. Closed and open ended questionnaire was used to collect primary data while descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyse the data. The collected data was analysed using multivariate probit regression model with the aid of STATA version 14 software. Descriptive results show that the mean age of smallholder dairy farmers was 49 years with 10 years of experience. Multivariate probit regression results revealed that the education level of the household head had a positive and significance marginal effect at 5% level of significance on the adoption of milk equipment technologies. A unit increase in the education level of the household head, increased the marginal effect of using the milking equipment by 7.5 percentage points. The relevance of dairy cattle technology was positive and had a positive effect on the adoption of AI at 1 % significance level. A unit increase in the relevance of technology would result in an increase in the marginal probability of adopting AI by 244 percentage points. The results further revealed that land size had a positive and significant marginal effect at 1% significant level on the adoption of AI. A one-unit increase in land size increases the marginal probability of adopting AI by 40 percentage points. The marginal effects result on milk chilling plants revealed that there was a positive relationship with the adoption of dairy cattle milk production technologies at 1% significant level. A unit increase in the number of milk chilling plants leads to a marginal increase in the probability of adopting dairy cattle milk production technologies by 65 percentage points. The study concluded that dairy farmers adopted technologies which were relevant depending on benefits derive out of it. It is further concluded that market distance determines the availability of the market for dairy produce and products and hence affecting the adoption of cattle milk production technologies. Further, extension services play a critical role in the adoption of cattle milk production technologies as it enhances the uptake and continued use of technologies. The study recommends that the county government should strengthen and revamp the extension service in order to aid dissemination of dairy cattle milk production technologies and continued use of the same by the farmers. It is also recommended that policies and initiatives that would go towards empowering farmers economically.