Dairy goats farming has been mentioned as the most lucrative venture among livestock keeping enterprises in the country.
The high demand for goat milk, yoghurt and meat in Nakuru County has made the enterprise the most lucrative venture for livestock farmers.
One of the goats’ famers, Mercy Mwaura from Soy Sambu in Nakuru County, keeps Anglo-Nubian breed, a breed she said is tough and resilient, and easily adopts to hot climates.
Speaking to our reporter, Mwaura narrated how the farming has changed her life and that of her family, noting that there is a phenomenal change as a result of the livestock rearing.
“Before I started practicing the enterprise, I depended on maize and beans for food and income and because of drought and luck of inputs, we barely got any returns from our farm. For too long we were broke and poor,” said Mwaura.
She added that they constantly failed to pay school fees for their three children, and could not meet their basic needs
In 2013, Mwaura and other five women decided to rear dairy goats, and it proved to be their turning point.
Mwaura notes that dairy goats are easy to keep, since they eat available foliage, and she gets good returns with goat milk going at Sh150 per litre, which is triple that of a cow.
An official from International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Samuel Otieno said farmers should diversify into other livestock farming like dairy goat keeping and beekeeping, as they can significantly boost their incomes.
Otieno noted that there is a big market for goat milk; both in Kenya and abroad, and he encouraged farmers to give it a try.
He said that goat milk is more nutritious than that of a cow, and is particularly good for children and the elderly.
"Goat milk has smaller fat than a cow’s, which makes it ideal for people with milk related allergies,” said Otieno.