Abstract:
A study was carried out in Kitui Township, Kyangwithya east and Kyangwithya west wards of Kitui central
sub county to assess the socio - economic factors influencing dairy goat milk production. Both exotic and
indigenous goats were surveyed. Multi stage and purposive sampling techniques were used to select 90
households from two agro ecological zones (semi arid and sub humid) within the wards. Social and
economic factors analyzed were education, experience, affiliation to groups, household income, income
sources, availability and accessibility of credit facilities. Both the social and economic factors were found to
have significant (p<O.OS) effects to milk production across the two breeds. It was concluded that when
farmers are organized into self help groups, they can mitigate against challenges related to limited
resources like land, water, labour, finances, skills, knowledge and marketing.
