• Mama Silage bags allow fodder storage for up to one year under direct sunlight.
• A retired veterinary officer says adoption of technologies from developed countries without local adaptation causes high costs and losses.
Image: Courtesy
The Kenya Dairy Board has urged farmers to make their own feed to reduce the cost of production.
Managing director Margaret Kibogy said the cost of production has been a big challenge in Kenya. She said it takes about Sh20 to produce a litre of milk. “Sixty per cent of the cost of production is spent on feed. Farmers should invest in producing their own feed so they can cut the cost to at least Sh15,” Kibogy said.
Her advice comes after new technology was introduced to help farmers store silage for one year.
Kibogy said processors cannot reduce the production burden because they have to meet the cost of milk transport, distribution and processing, which is “very high”. She said out of 100 per cent payment, Sh34 goes to the farmer, Sh17 is the cost of processing, another Sh5 goes to the cooperatives, Sh4 to the transporter and another Sh4 to the transporters.
“The farmer takes the biggest share in this value chain but they need to manage their farms properly and work on feed management to be able to make money in dairy. We are also researching on how to cut down the cost of production in the subsector so farmers can maximise profits,” Kibogy said.
Lucy Wanjiru, a retired veterinary officer with the Ministry of Agriculture, said the adoption of technologies from developed countries without local adaptation causes high costs and losses to farmers.
“The locally designed silage bags are adapted to local conditions, which is what farmers need because they will ensure the animals eat consistently adequate and high-quality fodder as a result of proper preservation,” she said.
“When this fodder is then fed to animals, there will be a definite increase in milk production, better health and higher fertility and productivity.”
Vaishali Malde of Packaging Industries Limited said they have introduced silage bags that enable farmers to adapt to climate change.
“Unfortunately, climate change has caused extended periods of drought, which makes it difficult for farmers to feed their cows. This is why we have introduced the farmers to Mama Silage bags, which allow them to store fodder for up to one year under direct sunlight,” Malde said on Friday during an interview with the Star.
The technology was showcased at the Eldoret agricultural show. The bags will enable farmers to feed their cows all year round, no matter the weather. They provide necessary anaerobic conditions for fermentation of fodder and protect silage from transpiration, the main cause of silage spoilage that results in moulds.
Malde said the silage bag has a capacity of about 600kgs and it is durable and reusable multiple times. Fodder preparation and storage is a reasonably complex scientific undertaking requiring extensive training to farmers.
“We’ve been able to successfully train over 3,000 farmers in the last six months in how to properly prepare and preserve fodder for their cows using Mama Silage bags," she said.
"The training coached smallholders, extension officers and workers, management of cooperatives, service provider enterprise members, along with input suppliers in Mt Kenya, Western Kenya and the North-Rift regions.”
(Edited by F'Orieny)