Beef Farming in Kenya

  

Date Posted: 4/16/2018 11:12:44 AM

Posted By: Musuwi  Membership Level: Silver  Total Points: 192

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Beef farming is the rearing of cattle for beef. In Kenya most meat is gotten from pastoralists which are Maasai,Boran,Turkana and other pastoral communities. It is also carried out in ranches in Laikipia,Kajiado,Kwale snd Kilifi. Beef farming is also carried out in small scale in other parts of the country. Most small scale farmers practice both dairy and beef farming combined. Beef farming in Kenya is not well developed as in Argentina. In Argentina ranches are extensively used and most of the beef farming is done on large scale. Also in Argentina most of the cattle reared are high breed.
Major slaughter houses in Kenya are located in Dagoretti in Nairobi,Miritini in Mombasa,Kisumu, Nakuru,Eldoret.

TYPES OF BEEF BREEDS RARED INCLUDE:Zebu,Boran,Hereford,Angus and others.
These breeds are more resistant to diseases and can withstand harsh weather conditions. Also they provide high quality meat as compared to other breeds. Most of beef farmers in Kenya sell their meat directly to slaughter houses which sell to butcheries for sell to consumers. Some meat is canned and exported to neighbouring countries and other countries in the world.

PROBLEMS FACING BEEF FARMING IN KENYA
1.HIGH TEMPERATURES
Most of the regions in Kenya where pastoral farming is carried out experience very high temperatures. This includes Kajiado,Laikipia,Turkana and other areas. These areas receiving very high temperatures make it impossible for pastoralists to walk for long with their cattle without getting exhausted. Also the high temperatures make it impossible for pastures to survive hence the pastoralists are forced to walk for long and hence the overall effect is unhealthy animals and poor quality meat.
2.UNRELIABLE RAINFALL
Pastoral areas receive very little amount of rainfall annually. This causes a shortage of water and pasture for the livestock. Pastoralists are forced to walk for long before getting pasture and water.
Also the owners of ranches have to look for

extra feeds from other areas and even spend more to get feeds for their animals. Also most of the animals die during the dry season due to lack of water.
3.POOR INFERTILE SOILS
Most of the soils in beef keeping areas are infertile. This makes low quality pasture to grow and also due to the climatic conditions the pasture is scarce hence unhealthy animals and low quality meat eventually.
4.OVERSTOCKING
This is a major problem facing mainly pastoral communities. This is where the farmers keep more animals than the area can sustain. Most of the pastoral communities take cattle as a sign of prestige in that the more cattle one has the richer he is. This makes everyone want to have as many animals as possible and this causes struggle for the little available pasture and water. This causes most animals to be unhealthy and during the dry season most of them die due to lack of adequate pasture. The result of this is unhealthy animal and low quality meat.
5.PESTS AND DISEASES.
Most of the animals are affected by pests especially Tsetse fly. Tsetsefly causes nagana in animals. This sickness is so
common in animals and it causes animals to feed less hence become unhealthy. This leads to low quality meat.
Also diseases are so common among beef cattle. These include east coast fever and foot and mouth disease. These diseases lower the quality of meat mostly because when animals are sick they tend to eat less. Also the farmers spend a lot on treating the animals. To make matters worse, in pastoral communities due to the large herds of cattle diseases spread faster and most of them die.
6.INADEQUATE CAPITAL
Capital required to establish ranches and run the ranches may not be available. Due to this many farmers tend to opt for small scale beef farming. This has really affected Kenya's total meat production as very few Kenyans are able to establish ranches and engage in large scale production.. This is one of the main reasons why countries like Argentina are ahead of us in terms of meat production.
7.POOR QUALITY BREEDS
Animals kept in Kenya are low quality. These cattle breeds are easily affected by diseases and are not resistant to diseases. Also they produce low quality meat.

SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS FACING BEEF FARMING
1.CREATING RANCHING SCHEMES
The cost required to establish a ranch is quite high. This limits many people from establishing ranches and hence the low volume of meat production in the country.
The government should establish ranches in different parts of the country to boost the production of meat in the country. Workers should also be hired to feed the cattle in the ranch and modern equipment also to be provided in those ranches to boost meat production in the country.
2.CREDIT FACILITIES THROUGH COOPERATIVES
Most farmers opt for small scale farming because they lack the required capital to venture in large scale farming. Cooperatives should be established to offer low interest loans for farmers to start large scale farming. This cash will be used to setup ranches with modern equipment to increase large scale beef farming in Kenya.
Also this will help farmers to purchase extra feeds for their animals to boost the quality of meat and also this will enable them to acquire high breed beef cattle.
3.DISTRIBUTING EXPERTS TO BEEF FARMING AREAS
These experts educate the farmers on the best ways to increase beef production. Also they will greatly educate the farmers on the best feeds to give their cattle for positive results. Other than that they will educate them on the best cattle breeds to rear. Other than that they will suggest the best treatment for different diseases. These experts should offer free education to farmers to ensure they all benefit from this.
4.ORGANIZING AGRICULTURAL FORUMS
This will enable different farmers to share ideas in order to boost beef production in Kenya.
5.INTRODUCING OF HIGH QUALITY BREEDS
Most farmers in Kenya keep low quality breeds of Cattle which produce low quality meat and are easily affected by diseases. The government should introduce high quality breeds which are more resistant to diseases and produce high quality meat. These breeds include Zebu,Hereford and others.
6.PROVIDING WATER IN PASTORAL AREAS
As seen earlier many pastoral areas are semi arid hence receive inadequate amount of rainfall. This makes water to be scarce. The government should construct dams and boreholes in such areas to boost the amount of water available for use by the animals.

SIGNIFICANCE OF BEEF FARMING IN KENYA
1.Through beef farming meat for local consumption is provided. There are numerous butcheries across the country which get meat locally not by importation.
2.Some of the meat is packaged in cans and exported to neighbouring countries. This earns the country foreign exchange used in other development activities in the country.
3.Through beef farming a lot of Kenyans have been employed. A lot of jobs are available in the ranches and meat processing plants.
4.Also through beef farming a lot of people have raised their standards of living.

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