Elizabeth Masasi from Mulot in Narok county has been a dairy farmer for years but the returns were nothing to smile about.
On a good day, she could only get one litre of milk per cow.
But things changed when she ventured into fodder production.
Masasi, who is the secretary at Mulot Kogoosi Dairy Cooperative Society in Narok, said her journey began when she joined a group of women to form a widows self-help group to support each other.
“There is strength in numbers so we decided to form a group to not only support each other but also to ensure our voices are heard,” she said.
“To improve our income, we started growing fodder to sell and to increase our milk production. That’s when the idea of changing to a cooperative society came to mind and we were able to register a dairy society with proceeds from the sale of fodder.”
They changed the name from Chepkwona Widows Self Help Group to Mulot Kogoosi Dairy Cooperative Society to include men, married women and youth.
She explained that the name Mulot Kogoosi in her ethnic language means plenty of milk.
“We decided to go with the name in the hope that we will always have plenty of milk,” Masasi said.
She spoke to the Star during a tour to Taita Taveta and Narok counties where the project has been implemented.
In 2021, Masasi was trained on fodder production thanks to the Integrated and Climate Smart Innovations for Pastoralist Economies and Landscape (ICSIAPL) project.
The project is being implemented in Narok, Kajiado and Taita Taveta counties by the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) in partnership with the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) Kenya.
“Through the training, I was able to establish a demo plot for fodder and legume production with the help of researchers from KARLO," she said.
"As a trainer of trainers, I have been able to mobilise and create awareness on the need for farmers to produce their own fodder to increase milk production,” Masasi said.
She has trained more than 800 farmers who are custodians of 22 demo plots in two wards.
Masasi said members of the cooperative are growing their own fodder and they can attest to having recorded an increase in milk production.
She has three dairy cows and she has increased milk production from two litres per day per cow to eight litres per day.
“This is my testimony and that is why I am encouraging other farmers to grow fodder to help them increase milk production. Every member of our dairy cooperative has seen an increase in milk production,” Masasi said.
She sell a litre of milk at Sh50 and her cost of production is minimal because she is growing her own fodder.
“I mix fodder and legumes to feed my dairy animals. It is like when you add onions, tomatoes and spices to make food tastier. Even animals need spices in their food.”
Masasi is among 6,500 farmers in three counties who have been trained in fodder production through the ICSIAPL project.
Dr Simon Kuria, director, Arid and Range Lands Research Institute (ARLRI) in KALRO-Kiboko said they trained the farmers for four months on the whole production cycle of fodder crops.
He said they have been working with farmers to produce rangeland grasses including cenchrus ciliaris, enteropogon macrostachyus, brachiaria camello, nutrifeed, sugargraze and the legumes such as cowpea M66.
Others are dolichos lablab and sunn hemp that perform well in low rainfall areas.
Highland grasses including boma rhodes, brachiaria cobra and panicum maximum Var Mombasa and legumes, lupin and purple vetch which perform well in high rainfall areas.
Kuria explained that the process starts from land preparation, weeding management, harvesting stage, conservation of the feed material, feeding the animal, up to developing business cases around the fodder production for use by the farmers.
He said since 2021, they have introduced at least 20 different fodder crops for the arid and high rainfall areas.
The three-year ICSIAPL project sought to explore research innovations that will improve livestock productivity, improve livelihoods and build the resilience of livestock keepers against climate change.
The Sh53 million project that will come to an end next year was funded by the European Union. It targeted livestock keepers from Narok, Kajiado and Taita Taveta counties.
Kuria explained that the demo plots were used as training centres for the farmers and each demonstration plot had about 10 to 12 different fodder varieties.
“During the training, farmers were taken through the process of evaluation. They are facilitated to formulate their own evaluation criteria to help them choose the varieties that are doing well," he said.
"We also took them through the process of formulating business cases that allow commercial production of the fodder crops and in addition allowed use of the material for finishing beef.”
Kuria said they carried out trails on beef finishing in Taita Taveta, Kajiado, Narok and another at KALRO Kiboko station to demonstrate that using a combination of grasses and legumes, farmers can finish their animals and be able to take them to the market.
“The beef finishing trials in Keiyian Cooperative (Narok), Kipeto in Kajiado, Kasigau Ranch in Taita Taveta and in Kiboko (on station) were successfully implemented,” the researcher said.
He said they were able to demonstrate that farmers can finish their sheep and goats in about 15 months and they will be ready for the market at between 30-40 kgs.
“Farmers will be able to finish beef commercially using the combination of both legumes and grasses that the project has been promoting and make money,” Kuria said.
He pointed out that the adoption of the technologies by the farmers has been up by 40 per cent.
“This is a significant percentage considering most of the technologies adopted by farmers are usually at 20 per cent. There has been a huge impact on the project,” Kuria said.
Low pH, phosphorus, nitrogen and zinc in the soil were found to be a limiting factor for some farmers. The researcher, however, added that they have been providing advice on fertiliser usage during the training and field days.