Kenya: Urban dairy goat rearing earns farmer decent income in the outskirts of Nairobi city
His main focus now is how he can grow the business to help eradicate poverty in the surrounding society by helping others who want to start off in dairy goat farming with proper advice and training.
Farmer’s Review Africa
July 9, 2023
Excerpt:
It is at this area where one, Robert Macharia Kinyua, bought a 40 x 60 feet piece of plot years back to live with family but would soon engage in the currently lucrative dairy goat venture in Kenya.
The farmer currently has 38 German Alpine dairy goats breed, several Saanen (the Swiss goat breed) among others. The goats produce 23 -30 litres of milk daily which he sells locally at Ksh200 a litre raking him Ksh5,000 a day thanks to the nutrition value of the dairy product making it sought after by many especially those under medication.
According to a 2012 research by Rebecca Jerop on Dairy Goat Milk Consumption in Siaya County, Kenya for Egerton University, goat milk is superior to cow milk and its proteins and amino acids are more digestible and absorbed efficiently making it best for people on medication such as HIV/AIDS victims.
Macharia first worked with COMTECH Telecommunication Corporation before being retrenched in 2011 rendering him jobless something to him was a way to learn on other sources of income other than employment.
“I cannot say I was disappointed when my job ended rather it was like a wakeup call that through this I would know other beneficial activities to venture in for a honest living,” said the 39 years old farmer.
He therefore used his Ksh20,000 savings to buy German Alpine dairy goat breed from a farmer in Embu who was rearing the goats. This was to help his family get nutritious milk even as he embarked on hustling for other daily needs.
Soon the goat would get pregnant and the family’s only source of milk was halted forcing Macharia to spend Ksh18,000 from his hustling to buy another lactating Alpine goat.
