Determinants of Adoption of Improved Crossbred Cattles: A Case Study of Suba and Laikipia Districts, Kenya

Abstract

Recognizing that more than 10% of the Kenyan GDP and 50% of agricultural GDP are comprised of sales within the livestock subsector; the purpose of this research is to identify the determinants of adoption of improved crossbred cattle in rural Kenya. This research has important implications for increasing the dairy subsectors’ productivity, improving nutrient intake within rural Kenya and motivating higher rates of foreign direct investment in a sustainable, beneficial sector. We used a publicly available (www.ifpri.org) dataset called "Land Tenure, Agricultural Productivity and the Environment, 2001." A logistical regression analysis is employed to answer our research questions. The results showed that: family members education, having an extra job in addition to farming, and exposure to external market forces (was the farmer a local, or immigrant) all greatly contributed to the likelihood of adoption. This research aims to gnaw away at the ambiguity and lack of research associated with the Kenyan dairy sub-sector and aims to facilitate greater understanding and investment in the sector.

Keywords: Adoption, Logistic regression, Kenya, Crossbreed cattle