Transcript Context for field exercise

Germplasm supply systems: Background information on field visit
Charles Wambugu
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Introduction
The visit will be conducted in two villages of
Kandara Division of Maragua District in central
Kenya. Participants will be divided into 2 groups.
Group 1: Visit Kahaini village and will be hosted
by members of Kahaiini Dairy Goat Group
Group 2: Visit Kagunduini village and will be
hosted by members of Kagunduini Dairy Goat
Group
Description of the area
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Rainfall: Bimodal (1200 -1500 mm/ year)
Soils: Humic Nitisols (FAO classification)
Population: Over 700 person/km²
Average farm size: less than 1 Ha
Land tenure: Individual ownership
Farming systems: mixed farming systems with cash and
food crops, livestock and trees on same piece of land
-Cash crops: mainly coffee and horticultural crops
----Food crops: maize, beans, Irish potatoes, bananas and
vegetables
-Livestock: dairy cattle and goats, sheep, pigs and poultry
(Dairy is a major enterprise in the area)
-Fruit trees: Avocado, Mangoes, Macadamia and pawpaw
-Timber trees: Grevillea, cypress, Eucaryptus and pines
-Poles and fuelwood trees: Eucalyptus, Grevillea, calliandra
and trichandra
-Hedge: Kei apple and cypress
-Fodder shrubs: Calliandra, trichandra, Mulberry, Sapium
and Trema
Major production constraints
 Soil
erosion
 Declining soil fertility due to
continuous land tillage
 Shortage of fodder for livestock
especially during the dry season
 Inadequate fuel-wood and other
wood products
 Insufficient opportunities for cash
generation
Collective action in Dairy goats’ production
and other agricultural enterprises
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In 1990s the farmers came together to form groups for
the purpose of breeding and marketing of the dairy
goats. Table banking was also introduced to cater for
other needs of the members. This led to formation of
Dairy goats Association of Kenya (DGAK).
In early 2000 the farmers established group nurseries
of fodder shrubs for the purpose of providing quality
feeds to their dairy goats and cows in addition to other
benefits accrued from fodder shrubs. They also
ventured into production of improved fruit trees.
In mid 2000 the farmers developed agroforestry-based
enterprises such as bee keeping, rabbit keeping,
marketing of tree planting materials, etc. This led to
formation of Kenya Association of Tee Seeds and
Nursery Operators (KATRESNO).
Details about DGAK and KATRESNO
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1. DGAK
The Dairy Goat Association of Kenya (DGAK) is a
farmers’ CBO that was formed with the assistance of
GTZ and the Ministry of Livestock Development. The
association has activities all over Kenya and to some
extent in the whole of the East African region. DGAK is
mainly involved in managing the breeding and
marketing of improved dairy goats. The association
has put in place a complex system of buck rotation
between the groups as a mechanism of controlling the
inbreeding of goats. It has elaborate training
programmes that precede the distribution of improved
goats to new areas. The training programme has a
feeding component where use of fodder shrubs as
goat feeds is highly recommended. The association
has thus helped a lot in scaling up the adoption of
fodder shrubs in the East African region and its
impacts are well perceived in the region.
2. KATRESNO
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KATRESNO is a community-based organization formed by
farmers involved in distribution and marketing of tree seed
and seedlings. Members are scattered all over Kenya. They
felt that there was need to form and strengthen linkages
among themselves and with institutions involved in tree
germplasm. In 2002/2003, ICRAF and Technoserve (an
agribusiness NGO) conducted studies on fodder shrub seed
supply system in central and western Kenya. The findings
from this study indicated that formation of linkages among
the seed dealers in the two regions would improve seed
supply system in the country. Most of the seed is produced
in western Kenya while the main seed demand is in the
central region of Kenya where the smallholder dairy is a
major enterprise. In 2006, a collaborative project between
ICRAF and AED helped the farmers to form the association
and linked them to major tree seed dealers such as the
National Tree Seed Centre of KEFRI, the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forest Department, KARI and several NGOs.