Proceedings of the World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, 11.985
Innovative use of sheep and goats by women in climate smart villages in Kenya
Julie M.K. Ojango1, James Audho1, Edwin Oyieng1, John Recha1 and Anne W.T. Muigai2
1 International Livestock Research Institute, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
2 Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P. O. Box 62000, Nairobi, 00200,
Kenya
awmuigai@yahoo.co.uk (Corresponding Author)
Summary
The Nyando Basin in Kenya, a rich agricultural flood plain around Lake Victoria with a
population density exceeding 400 persons per square kilometre, has been adversely affected by
extreme weather events that include droughts and floods. Literacy levels are low. Land sizes are
small, generally less than one hectare, and poverty rates are high. Through a partnership around
collective action, seven villages have been selected to pilot climate smart integrated crop and
livestock production. The approach focusses on improving local knowledge of climate risks,
variability in seasonal rainfall, and targeted introduction of technologies to increase productivity
of crops and livestock in order to enhance livelihoods. Given the household composition and
differential access and control over resources by men and women in the communities a gendered
approach was adapted for sheep and goat improvement. Men generally control practices around
goats, while women have a greater say on sheep. Past uncontrolled breeding of sheep and goats,
closed to introduction of animals from elsewhere has resulted in smaller sized animals that take
long to mature, and do not fetch good market prices. The CGIAR led project thus introduced
improved strains of resilient but more productive indigenous breeds of Gala goats and Red
Maasai sheep for crossbreeding with the local breeds and has resulted in women taking a lead in
community led breeding programmes resulting in crosses with better performance and desirable
traits.
Keywords: sheep and goats, climate change, community breeding programme
Introduction
The people of the Nyando Basin, a rich agricultural flood plain located around Lake
Victoria, western Kenya are traditionally a farming community who rely heavily on farming for
food and income. In recent years however, this region has been affected by climate change which
is manifest through frequent prolonged dry spells followed by short and heavy rains that lead to
flooding and subsequently environmental degradation. This has resulted in low agricultural
productivity making the area food insecure. Reports indicate that approximately 81% of the
families go for between one and two months with limited food, while 17% of the families
experience 3-4 months in a year when their farms are totally unproductive (Mango et al. 2011).
The challenge of food production is compounded by the fact that the Nyando Basin has one of
the highest population densities of rural localities in East Africa, with more than 400 persons per
square kilometre (Macoloo et al. 2013). The HIV infection rate in the adult population of the area
Proceedings of the World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, 11.985
is high (at approximately 7.5%) resulting in a large number of widow and orphan headed
households. It is estimated that half of the population in the area lives below the poverty line
(NASCOP and NACC 2007).
In order to assist this community mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and
increase their food security status, the CGIAR research program on Climate Change Agriculture
and Food Security (CCAFS), in collaboration with World Neighbors, Vi Agroforestry and
Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has since 2011, been implementing a
portfolio of promising climate change adaptation, mitigation and risk management interventions
for small-holder farmers grouped into “Climate Smart Villages” (CSV). One such intervention
has been the introduction of improved strains of indigenous sheep and goats alongside capacity
building of community members to manage sheep and goat populations in order to improve the
productivity of the animals kept by households within the Nyando Basin. The roles the sheep and
goats can play to improve the income of smallholder farms of Kenya has been demonstrated
(Kosgey et al. 2008; Ojango, et al., 2010). This study provides insights on the role of the women
in small holder farming sytems adopting breeding management practices and implementing a
community breeding programm.
Material and methods
Study area, sampling procedure and data collection
The study was conducted in the Nyando Basin located in Kisumu and Kericho Counties
of western Kenya (Figure 1). One hundred and thiry nine households were randomly selected
from seven villages were selected from a total of 106 villages within a 10x10 block of land
(Mango et al. 2011). The sample size was chosen to enable measurement of changes in a series of
pre-determined indicators over a 5-to-10-year period. Among the households identified, those
rearing sheep and goats were were selected to participate in sheep and goat improvement
activities as reported by Ojango et al. (2016). Data was collected using a participatory systems
research approach. Individual household data was collected using the “Open Data Kit” (ODK)
information technology platform (https://opendatakit.org/).
Proceedings of the World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, 11.985
Figure 1: Map of Kenya highlighting the Nyando Basin
Results and Discussion
The landsizes owned by the farmers in Kisumu and Kericho Counties were small with 58%
of the households owning less than one hectare of land on which to grow crops and rear
indigenous livestock. Innovative adoption of livestock management practices were required in
order to realize a positive change in crop and livestock productivity.
In Kisumu County significantly more households (p<0.005) were headed by women
compared to Kericho County. These women had either a primary school level of education or
none at all (Table 1). Understanding the characteristics of the head of the households was
important as this would be the person making key decisions on sheep and goat breeding and
improvement.
Table 1. Level of education of the head of the household (HH)
Gender Level of Kisumu Kericho
of HH Education
Head    n % n %
No formal
Male education 5 9.43% 5 10.87%
56.60
  Primary School 30 % 30 65.22%
High/Secondary 33.96
  school 18 % 11 23.91%
  Sub-Total 53 46
No formal 37.14
Female education 13 % 7 43.75%
51.43
  Primary School 18 % 8 50.00%
High/Secondary
  school 4 11.43% 1 6.25%
Proceedings of the World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, 11.985
  Sub-Total 35 16
The farmers in both counties kept both sheep and goats, often alongside cattle, poutlry and
donkeys (Table 2). The largest proportion of indigenous livstock kept in both counties by either
men or women, were indigenous poultry, with a greater proportion of indigenous poultry being
kept in Kisumu compared to Kericho. Most of the indigenous poultry (63%) were kept by
women in Kericho County unlike in Kisumu where they were kept by the men (63%). All the
cross bred poultry in Kericho county were kept by men, while more women in Kisumu County
kept cross-bred poultry (67%) compared to the men.
The sheep and goats reared in both counties were mainly indigenous breeds (Table 2). The
specific breed-type reared was dependent on the gender of the household head. A higher
proportion of female headed households prefering the introduced pure Red Maasai sheep breed
and their crosses (either Red Maasai x Dorper in Kisumu or Red Maasai x Blackhead Persian in
Kericho) to the indigenous local sheep or goat breeds. Though the Red Maasai sheep and Galla
goat breeds are indigenous breeds kept in other regions of Kenya, improved lines have been
developed through successful selective breeding programmes. The improved breeds were
introduced in the Nyando Basin to provide a genetic lift to the local indigenous breeds rather than
using exotic breed-types as has been the widely adopted practice in many breeding programs
found in developing countries. The women of Nyando preferred the resultant cross bred animals
because of their quick adaptability to the environment while exhibiting more desirable traits than
the pure bred local sheep and goat breeds. The crossbred animals have been able to withstand the
heat stress, recover from drought periods by exhibiting compensatory growth, utilize the forage
available in the area, and are able to attain market weights within shorter periods of time
compared to the local breeds that take up to four years to reach a marketable weight (Ojango et
al., 2015).
Following practical training through community groups, women have taken a lead role in
implementing planned rotational mating of the improved animals, monitor their performance
through recording details on their performance over time, and influence the pricing and
marketing of the improved animals. Improved productivity and market access for sheep and
goats is evident alongside better management of the ecosystem. Demand for improved animals
with performance records and the average selling price for sheep has more than doubled
(changing from an average of KSH 3,500 to KSH 7,800). This is leading to a positive change in
the livelihoods of women in the communities. A community breeding program incorporating
gender integrated innovative technologies and a stronger product market chain is thus being
designed and implemented for the climate smart villages using indigenous breeds.
Proceedings of the World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, 11.985
Table 2. Number and different species of animal kept and the respective proportion of households
keeping them disaggregated by gender
Kisumu county
No. of % of N by Max
Total No. Households Gender of Mean herd Herd
Animal Species of animals (N) Household head size ±SD Size
Male Female
Indigenous Cattle 285 59 63 37 4.83±3.34 20
Indigenous Sheep 370 62 65 35 5.97±6.22
Indigenous Goats 184 60 63 37 3.07±2.01 8
Indigenous Poultry 633 62 63 37 10.21±8.08 40
Indigenous
Donkeys 10 4 75 25 2.50±0.58 3
Cross-bred Cattle 40 14 71 29 2.86±1.70 7
Cross-bred Sheep 48 13 46 54 3.69±3.33 11
Cross-bred Goats 103 32 72 28 3.22±2.12 8
Cross-bred Poultry 20 3 33 67 6.67±3.51 10
Kericho County
Indigenous Cattle 200 47 70 30 4.26±2.75 14
Indigenous Sheep 71 24 46 54 2.96±2.91 15
Indigenous Goats 223 43 77 23 5.19±3.09 11
Indigenous Poultry 242 27 37 63 6.54±3.87 20
Indigenous
Donkeys 35 28 71 29 1.25±0.59 3
Cross-bred Cattle 75 17 94 6 4.41±2.62 10
Cross-bred Sheep 32 10 60 40 3.20±1.32 6
Cross-bred Goats 169 27 89 11 6.26±6.45 29
10.50±13.4
Cross-bred Poultry 21 2 100 0 4 20
Conclusion
Participatory breeding programs for sheep and goat production can be adapted for poor
smallholder farmers living under challenging environmental conditions. Through involving
women in community training activities, animal management practices that contribute to
improving productivity and hence increased incomed from the sheep and goats were readily
adopted. The climate smart breeding and management interventions for sheep and goats have
enabled a sustained improvement of livelihoods for poor small-holder farmers in Nyando
Proceedings of the World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, 11.985
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