Mwangi, Veronica; Owuor, Samuel; Kiteme, Boniface; Giger, Markus (2020). Beef Production in the Rangelands: A Comparative Assessment between Pastoralism and Large-Scale Ranching in Laikipia County, Kenya. Agriculture, 10(9), p. 399. MDPI 10.3390/agriculture10090399
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Text (Beef Production in the Rangelands: A Comparative Assessment between Pastoralism and Large-Scale Ranching in Laikipia County, Kenya)
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Beef production in Kenya is the forte of pastoralists and large-scale ranches in the Aridand Semi-Arid areas. Cross sectional data was collected from 67 pastoralists and seven large-scaleranches, selected through multistage stratified sampling. Comparative descriptive statistics, grossmargin analysis and analysis of production constraints were done with the objective of assessing thepastoralists and large-scale ranches direct economic gains, constraints to production and potential forupgrading. Gross margin analysis showed that beef production is profitable for both pastoralistsand large-scale ranches. However, large-scale ranches had much higher gross margins of up to sixtimes more. There were significant differences in the live weight of cattle, prices and livestock sellingchannels and cost of production. Drought, livestock diseases, invasive plant species, lack of waterand human-wildlife conflict were among factors limiting productivity of pastoralists. The differencein gross margins indicates existing potential for pastoralists to improve their earnings through acombination of product, process, and functional upgrading. Addressing key constraints to productioncan contribute to better gains and strengthen coexistence between pastoralists and large-scale ranches.Strategies and programmes to enhance cattle fattening, provision of livestock extension services,affordable feed inputs and collaboration between the two production systems should be consideredin upgrading.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
10 Strategic Research Centers > Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) |
UniBE Contributor: |
Kiteme, Boniface, Giger, Markus |
ISSN: |
2077-0472 |
Publisher: |
MDPI |
Projects: |
[437] Towards food sustainability Official URL
[803] Cluster: Land Resources |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Stephan Schmidt |
Date Deposited: |
30 Nov 2020 14:53 |
Last Modified: |
24 Aug 2023 08:45 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.3390/agriculture10090399 |
BORIS DOI: |
10.7892/boris.147614 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/147614 |
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