@article{Taruss:134496,
      recid = {134496},
      author = {Taruss, Ruth Chepchirchir},
      title = {Analysis of Small-Scale Dairy Farmers' Perceptions of  Alternative Fodder Grasses Contingent on Napier Stunt  Disease in Bungoma District, Kenya},
      address = {2010-10},
      number = {634-2016-41463},
      pages = {83},
      year = {2010},
      abstract = {Smallholder dairy sector in Western Kenya plays an  important role in the livelihoods of many farm households  by generating income and employment. Napier grass is the  principal source of livestock feed in the region; as well  as being an integral grass in the push-pull technology  (PPT). Despite this fact, Napier stunt disease (NSD) has  become a serious threat to the growth of Napier grass and  consequently to the livestock industry. This thesis focused  on farmers‟ perceptions on alternative fodder grasses to  Napier grass and sought to provide a better understanding  of the alternative grasses available for adoption due to  the threat to fodder availability by NSD. The objective of  this study was thus to determine the extent of Napier stunt  disease infestation in small-scale dairy farming and to  find out alternative fodder grasses small scale dairy  farmers would prefer if Napier grass is affected by NSD.  The study was conducted in Bungoma District (now county),  Western province, Kenya. Primary data were collected from  140 small-scale dairy farmers. Descriptive statistics and  multinomial logit model were employed to generate the  results using STATA and SPSS application software. Results  revealed that, Napier grass is the main source of fodder by  the majority (98.6%) of the farmers and that the  cultivation and expansion of the fodder crop has been  severely threatened by NSD. Most (97.9%) of the interviewed  farmers recognized and experienced the damage caused by  this disease. At least a portion of each respondent‟s land  had been affected ranging from 0.01 acres to 2.0 acres. The  reported effects of NSD on dairy enterprise included:  reduction in milk production, reduction of breeding stock  and increased costs of production. Results further  confirmed that, a majority (68.6%) of the respondents  showed willingness to replace Napier grass with alternative  fodder grasses. The alternatives in order of priority  included: Natural grass; signal grass; Giant seteria; Sudan  grass; and Molasses grass. Results obtained from  multinomial logit model revealed that, some of the farm and  farmer characteristics, institutional characteristics, and  grass attributes were important determinants of farmers‟  perceptions on alternative grasses used in smallholder  dairy farming. Consequently, it is essential that when  screening alternative fodder grasses, emphasis should be  placed on attributes that conform to farmers‟ preferences  and that farmers should be involved in evaluation of fodder  grasses to find their suitability to the farmers‟  circumstances. It is also recommended that on farm trials/  demonstrations to test grass attributes suggested as  important in decision making on preference of alternative  grasses should be validated.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/134496},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.134496},
}