Fodder Farming In The Arid And Semi-Arid Lands Of Kenya: A Potential Profitable Venture

Abstract

Background: In Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), the productivity of livestock is seriously constrained by the productivity and nutritive value of the common fodder species. Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization in partnership with SNV Netherlands promoted an innovative project of a mixed-sward of legume and grass production materials using a wide array of twenty genetic fodder materials. Materials and Methods: This paper employed a profit frontier efficiency alongside the financial accounting of gross margin and benefit-cost ratio to examine the profitability of the fodder materials promoted. Results: The results revealed how profitable the production of fodder legumes and grasses could be both in the lowlands and highlands zones of ASALs with an average of over 83.94% profit efficiency score and more than 2.7 benefit-cost ratios. It was also very clear that profit efficiency measurement is different from financial accounting measures of gross margin and benefit-cost ratio. Conclusion: Thus, an effective and broad-ranging legume-grass development program based on the two measures is central to addressing the productivity of fodder production in Kenya.