Abstract

Kenya’s dairy industry, dominated by the private sector, is one of the most competitive and largest in Africa. The sector is diverse and vital to the country’s economy. However, the sector is primarily subsistence on small holds. Variety of challenges worsens the sector resulting in suboptimal production and profitability. The aim of this paper was to conduct a comprehensive assessment of Kenya’s dairy sector in order to identify economic transformative interventions. This study looked at the Kenyan dairy sector through explorative approach. The study used extensive interviews with farmers, government officials, and Non-Governmental Organizations. Through a systematic search, the study reviewed scientific publications through online search engines conducted in the year 2010 to 2020. Google Scholar, Worldwide Science.org, Science Direct, and African Journal Online (AJOL) were the search engines used. Dairy farming, dairy, constraints, opportunities sustainability, and Kenya were the main search phrases utilized on peer-reviewed scientific publications. The study found out that various aspects of the dairy sector are mutually related and dynamic, with multiple limitations and are both industrial and social in nature. Climate change negatively effect on dairy production. Dairy production widely is a contributor to global biodiversity loss through acidification, eutrophication, climate change, freshwater usage, and eco toxicity. Dairy intensification is a concern in public health by posing biological, chemical, and physical occupational health risks. Gender especially women’s roles and the overall intensity of labour usage is a major concern in dairy operation. The study concludes that given the complexity and interconnectedness of the industry’s challenges, it is critical that dairy sector solutions focus on an accurate diagnosis of the sector’s many aspects crisis. As a result, resolving the multisystem constraints that underpin value chain growth is an intrinsically complicated political process. Multi-stakeholder procedures are more than just technical inputs.

Keywords: Kenya; Dairy; Smallholder; Subsistence; Production; Emerging Issues; Transformation