Dairy farming has been. and still is. highly rated by farmers on smallholder mixed crop-livestock farms as a major source of farm income and manure. The latter is a valuable input that is used to replenish the declining soil fertility status following continuous cropping. A participatory rural appraisal (PRA) of the coffee land-use system of Embu District in eastern Kenya identified that available feeds. including the residual stover after maize harvest do not meet all the needs of the genetically superior cattle breeds kept by farmers in the area leading to low milk production and consequently diminished income base. Farmer participatory constraints and gender analyses done during the PRA identified the use of maize leaves as an alternative and viable option for enhancing feed availability on smallbolder farms where maize is traditionally grown as the main staple crop. The potential for exploiting the maize leaves from the local hybrids currently grown maize hybrids was initially tested through farmer managed on-farm research between 1996 and 1999 in which a total of 34 males and 22 females from within 34 households in Embu District participated. This was followed by an on-centre study in 2000 to further validate the nutritional contribution of maize leaves to dairy cattle. The broad objectives of the aforementioned research were: a) to determine the practicality of removing the leaves (defoliation). b) to determine the forage yield from the maize crop and c) to assess the effects of feeding the maize leaf-based diets on milk yield by dairy cattle. The results are discussed in this paper in relation to socio-economic and gender implications. and impact of maize fodder technology to dairy development in Kenya.

English

0410|AGRIS 0401|AL-Maize Program

Juan Carlos Mendieta

CIMMYT Publications Collection