| dc.description.abstract | Over the years, poverty and food insecurity have arisen as some of the major global issues facing people worldwide. 414 million people in Sub Saharan Africa, according to Gorta, an Irish Charity, live on less than 1.25 dollars a day. This extreme poverty is concentrated in rural areas. In Nyakach Sub County of Western Kenya, over 60% of people live in poverty. Agricultural productivity is constrained by poor climatic conditions leading to low income and food insecurity. In these difficult circumstances, people are trying to earn enough money to feed their families and afford essentials. While dairy goat keeping has proved ideal for these struggling populations as indicated by various studies done in the past across East Africa, no studies have been undertaken in Thurdibuoro, Western Kenya to determine if the economic enterprise has achieved similar successes in the area. Building on the success of other dairy goat projects in Eastern Africa, Gorta dedicated to ending hunger and poverty with a particular focus on helping families achieve balanced diets in rural Africa has established various dairy goat farming projects in Eastern Africa which have proved successful in poverty reduction and improving food security. However, no studies have been undertaken to determine if the Thurdibuoro Dairy Goat Farming Project, also established by Gorta, has improved income and food security in the study area. This study set out to assess the effect of the dairy goat farming project on the household income and dietary diversity of the people of Thurdibuoro community. The specific objectives were: to establish the contribution of dairy goat farming to household income, determine the contribution of the dairy goat farming project to household dietary diversity and identify challenges faced by farmers rearing dairy goats in Thurdibuoro. A cross sectional study design was applied and a sample of 115beneficiaries of the dairy goat farming project drawn from a population of 124 project members using disproportionate stratified random sampling. Household interviews were undertaken using a set of pre-tested structured and semi-structured questionnaires administered to the 115 beneficiaries. Focus Group Discussions were also held with the farmers to provide an insight on what they thought about key issues relating to the study topic. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data. The study established that 59.5% of the milk produced was allocated for sale accounting for 34% of the average monthly income of Kshs 8258 earned by the farmers which according to the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey 05/06 was above the poverty line of Kshs 1562 for rural areas, thereby rendering the project suitable for income reduction. Part of this income (32%) was allocated towards buying more variety of foods for more diversity in diet. This was further enhanced by the channeling of manure to kitchen gardens hence improving soil fertility and a resulting increase in yields of more food crops thereby more diversity in diet. Of the milk produced, 41% was allocated towards home consumption for nutrition improvement as well. As per the Kenya National Guidelines on Nutrition and HIV/AIDS 2006 report, 83% of the respondents were able to meet the daily recommended frequency of servings for various nutrients. The greatest challenge faced by 72% of the project beneficiaries as revealed by the study findings was shortage of pasture due to seasonal fluctuations out of poor/erratic climatic conditions. This could be addressed through identifying alternative feed sources through feasibility studies and availing the findings to dairy goat farmers as has been proved effective in the recent past by similar projects, for instance, in Malaysia. The research will contribute knowledge that may promote agricultural productivity not only in the study area but country wide as well. | en_US |
