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Abstract

The objective of this paper was to estimate the demand for poultry feed among smallholder farmers in Kenya disaggregated by gender. Most poultry enterprises are owned and managed by women even in male headed households. The study utilizes cross-section data collected in July 2015 from a sample 386 poultry farmers randomly selected from three counties including Nakuru, Kisii and Kirinyaga Counties. The feed demand for poultry enterprise was analyzed by estimating a translog cost function and a system of cost share functions for the major feed types used for poultry feeding in Kenya. These include grains, vegetables, and mixed feed. From the study the mean demand of feed per farmer were 55.47 kilograms for grains, 48.37 kilograms for vegetables and 71 kilograms for mixed feed. The variations between male and female farmers were significant at 10% for vegetables. Also the mean costs of feed per farmer were Kshs. 2108.00 for grains, Kshs.1248.00 for vegetables and Kshs 16,214.00 for mixed feed. In addition the results show that feeds are generally price inelastic and price elasticities tend to decrease with rising expenditure level. The study found out that most of the feeds have complementary relationships. For instance grain and mixed feed pair, and vegetable and mixed feed pair all exhibit a complementary relationship. It is therefore recommended that policy makers should develop policies that aim at reducing the prices of manufactured feed through the adoption of alternative ingredients such as insect as a source of protein in feed manufacture.

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