Abstract:
Dairy farming is an important industry in Kenya with an estimated value of Ksh 160 billion and supporting over 1 million households. Commercial smallholder dairy farmers number over one million and produce about 80% of marketed milk in the country. However, the smallholder dairy farmers have had to contend with ups and down in the industry since its liberalization and collapse and revival of the then Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC) in 1990s. However, the factors that influence smallholder dairy farmers’ in Kipkaren division to choose one milk marketing outlet over another had not been known thereby making this study necessary. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that influence smallholder dairy farmers’ choice of milk marketing outlet in Kipkaren division. It is hoped that the findings of the study will improve policy makers understanding of factors that influence smallholder dairy farmers’ choice of milk marketing outlet and serve as a tool to improve the milk marketing system in Kenya. Survey research design was employed in the study with the study area being Kipkaren division of Nandi County. The population of study was made up of smallholder dairy farmers in Kipkaren division who practiced mixed farming. Proportional stratified sampling was employed to determine the number of household heads to be interviewed per location while simple random sampling was used during the actual interview in the field to identify households to be interviewed. The study sample size comprised of 185 household heads and a semi-structured interview schedule was used as the data collection instrument. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data with chi-square test used to determine the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The findings from the study indicate that the amount of milk produced, the state of the road infrastructure, the services offered by the milk chilling plants and ownership of appropriate means of transport influenced the smallholder dairy farmers’ choice of milk marketing outlet in Kipkaren division. In contrast, the mode of milk payment in urban and rural centres was found to have no influence on the smallholder dairy farmers’ choice of milk marketing outlet in Kipkaren division. The study concludes that smallholder dairy farmers are not just looking for milk price but also, a market outlet offering other services such as credit and inputs. The study recommends that there is need for government support of the dairy marketing groups through capacity building by offering trainings as well as support the groups in contracts enforcement.
