Sustainable genetic improvement of goat meat and milk production in Kenya: A case of the Meru and Tharaka-Nithi Dairy and Animal Healthcare community-based Breeding Programme.

Livestock, particularly small stock plays an important role to small-scale resource poor livestock keepers. Their efficient utilization on small land holdings result in enhanced farm family nutrition and increased farm productivity, hence focus on their development can be one way of reducing poverty among the poor. Past goat genetic improvement programmes in Kenya were based on government research centers, hence were too expensive and unsustainable and rather irrelevant for small-scale farmers. FARM-Africa is implementing a community based goat improvement programme to improve the productivity of local goats using imported British Toggenburg. Using farmers self help groups as an entry point to the community, breeding units for the production of pure Toggenburgs and buck stations for crossbreeding local goats with Toggenburgs have been established. Farmers have formed Meru Goat Breeders Association (MGBA), through which farmers are able to supervise breeding activities. MGBA is a member of the Kenya Stud Book (KSB), which is the main livestock registering body, and for a long time small scale resource poor farmers were not active members. Through the programme the improved goat population in the project area has increased from zero in 1996, to more than ten thousand in 2002. The breeding programme, mating plans, selection criteria and the challenges to the programme is discussed. Also discussed are the impacts of the programmes and ways of sustainable way of ensuring continuity of the breeding beyond project phase funding is over