Influence of distance to urban markets on smallholder dairy farming systems in Kenya

Abstract

We studied influence of distance to urban markets on smallholder dairy farming system development. Farms were chosen from three locations that varied in distance to the urban market of Nakuru Town in the Kenyan highlands: urban location (UL, n = 10) at less than 15 km distance, mid-rural location (MRL, n = 11) in between 20 and 50 km west of Nakuru and extreme rural location (ERL, n = 9) beyond 50 km west and south-west of Nakuru. In-depth interviews with farmers and focus group discussions with eight groups of stakeholders were held to collect narratives and data about market quality, production factors, farm performance and functions of dairy cattle. We applied thematic content analysis to qualitative information by clustering narratives according to predefined themes and used ANOVA to analyse farm data. In UL, markets were functional, with predominantly informal market chains, with a high milk price (US $ 45.1/100 kg). Inputs were available in UL markets, but prices were high for inputs such as concentrates, fodder, replacement stock and hired labour. Moreover, availability of grazing land and the high opportunity costs for family labour were limiting dairy activities. In UL, milk production per cow (6.9 kg/cow/day) and per farm (20.1 kg/farm/day) were relatively low, and we concluded that farm development was constrained by scarcity of inputs and production factors. In rural locations (MRL and ERL), markets were functional with relatively low prices (average US $ 32.8/100 kg) for milk in both formal and informal market chains. Here, concentrates were relatively cheap but also of low quality. Fodder, replacement stock and labour were more available in rural locations than in UL. In rural locations, milk production per cow (average 7.2 kg/cow/day) and per farm (average 18.5 kg/farm/day) were low, and we concluded that farm development was constrained by low quality of concentrates and low price of milk. In all locations, production for subsistence was valued since income generated was used for non-dairy expenses. A tailor-made package of interventions that targets the above constraints is recommended for farm development.

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“…About three quarters of Kenya's dairy cows are raised in extensive grazing and semi-intensive systems, in which cows obtain fodder through a combination of grazing and stall feeding (Bebe et al, 2003). Average annual milk production per cow on smallholder dairy farms is low, at about 1,800 L per cow, but the wide variation in yields among farms points to the strong potential to increase dairy productivity (Lukuyu et al, 2011;Migose et al, 2018). Common reasons for low productivity include poor management of the cow's lactation cycle, limited availability and poor quality of feed, and poor cow welfare (Biwott et al, 1998;Richards et al, 2015).…”

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“…Effects of proximity to urban centres on farmer' production and marketing strategies have been described by various authors, including Nanyeenya et al (2009), Duncan et al (2013), Gebremedhin et al (2014), Migose et al (2018) and Minten et al (2018). Remoteness and proximity are relative terms that are influenced by context factors: agroecology including altitude and aridity (Reardon et al, 2014) and quality of infrastructure including roads, electricity and telecom connectivity (Hoddinott et al, 2014;Kyeyamwa et al, 2008;Mutambara et al, 2013).…”

“…Hence, travel time to delivery point is an important parameter for farmer' decisions to supply to particular dairy market channels (Muriuki and Thorpe, 2006;Voors and D'Haese, 2010). Farmers who are physically close to urban markets may be able to choose between channels (Migose et al, 2018), while for farmers in remote areas, the opportunity for direct marketing is usually more limited. In very remote areas they often home-process and sell dairy products such as butter and cottage cheese (Gebremedhin et al, 2014;Voors and D'Haese, 2010).…”

“…To distinguish between proximity to local input market, local output market and endmarket, we innovate on Gebremedhin et al (2014) and Migose et al (2018) by splitting up travel time to markets into i) travel time to local service centre where farmers obtain inputs and services (T1), ii) travel time to local delivery point for marketed dairy products, be they fresh milk or home-processed (T2) where farmers sell milk or dairy products, and iii) travel time from local service centre to urban end-market, i.e. milk processing plant or main end-user market for home-processed products (T3) (Appendix 3.1, Figure A).…”

“…Ever since von Thünen (1875)'s paper about the 'isolated state', proximity to urban end-markets for agricultural produce has received ample attention in attempts to understand market participation of remote farmers (Chamberlin and Jayne, 2013;Marino et al, 2018;Oosting et al, 2014). In many cases, however, von Thünen's proximity to end-market does not adequately explain intensification and market participation patterns observed, as recently shown by Migose et al (2018); neither do analyses using travel costs or travel time to end-markets as proxy for market access transaction cost (Minten et al, 2018). As Nanyeenya et al (2009) stated, proximity to markets for inputs and services requires attention as well, especially where intensification of land use leads to increased use of inputs and services that need to be obtained from local service centres.…”