Technical Efficiency among Smallholder Dairy Cattle Farmers in Nyandarua County, Kenya

Dairy farming is important due to its role in Kenya’s economy. It increases the nation’s food security, gives farmers a source of revenue, and creates jobs. The majority of milk drank worldwide comes from dairy cattle. Dairy cattle rearing has supplanted tea and coffee plantations as the primary source of livelihood across the Rift Valley and central Kenyan regions. The sector remains an integral part of Kenya’s economy; overall dairy production has gone down over the past 20 years despite an increase in cattle herds. In addition to the likelihood of an increment in the demand for dairy products and milk due to the growth of urban dwellers, Kenya’s dairy farming industry has not yet reached its full potential. Dairy production has been rising in Nyandarua, yet studies demonstrate that there has not been an analogous increase in productivity per cow when compared to the counties next door. The attainment of maximal technological efficiency at the farm level would be essential due to the shortage of production resources (particularly land) for dairy farming and boosting the availability of food, which is amid the Kenyan government’s targets. The assessment’s two goals are to estimate the technical efficiency of smallholder dairy cattle farmers in the Kinangop sub-county of Nyandarua County, Kenya, and to identify the factors that influence their technical efficiency. A non-experimental research approach was adopted, and cross-sectional data was gathered using questionnaires completed by a sample of farmers. Participants were chosen conveniently due to the lack of a population list to form a sampling frame to take part in the study based on a stratified sample from the ward. Each sampled farmer’s quantitative input and output data were gathered. Multiple regression analysis was used in the study in order to identify elements that alter technical efficiency, and a maximum-likelihood estimation approach was employed to establish the stochastic frontier production function. From the results, it was concluded that farmers were 71.1% technically efficient, 95% of the dairy farmers were above average, and only 5% of the farmers were below average. The maximum estimates likelihood coefficients indicated that labour, acres allocated to fodder production, concentrate, and fodder fed to animals per day were positive, although statistically insignificant. However, expenditure on animal health had a negative impact on technical efficiency but was statistically insignificant. The study also establishes that the level of education is a key determinant of efficiency in Kinangop. This study recommends that the smallholder dairy farmers in Kinangop sub-county ought to strive to be technically efficient including hiring labour that can aid in providing labour, joining the various societies that may be critical in providing credit among other services, using concentrates and fodder in dairy farming as well as practicing hay and silage preservation. The study further recommends that the county government of Nyandarua come up with policies that aid citizens in accessing higher education and extension services.