The socio - economic factors influencing dairy goat milk production in Kitui township, Kyangwithya eastand Kyangwithya west wards of Kitui central sub county - Kenya

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.