Hydroponics fodder technology innovation arrives in Kenya

Kenyan livestock farmers are growing fodder in 8 days using an innovation called hydroponics fodder technology. Kenyan livestock farmers can now grow high quality animal feeds for maximization of livestock yields. These sounds too good to be true yet it’s tested and proven. The high yielding hydroponics fodder technology innovation is fast spreading in the country, offering Kenyan livestock farmers round supply of nutritious green fodder. Hydroponics fodder technology has a cycle of eight days producing up to 50 kgs of the fodder in a 20 by 10 feet space, enough to feed 20 mature cows or 120 goats all year round. Christened by Kenyan livestock farmers as hydroponics fodder technology, due to its ability to grow fodder and other crops without the soil, it has been embraced by Kenyan livestock farmers as a solution to land scarcity, as a factor of agriculture production is continually becoming limited in the face of population pressure and skyrocketing cost of commercial feeds. 

The innovation has been in existence for the last 50 years globally. Kenyan livestock farmers are just piloting the innovation with majority of about 2 million livestock farmers in Kenya yet to try it.  Hydroponics fodder technology innovation application involves germination of seeds in nutrient rich growth media solutions instead of soil, producing nutritious grass/ root combination. Hydroponics fodder technology versus ordinary cattle feed pasture production requires minimal space and the resulting pasture has is more nutritious. A greenhouse with trays stacked on is required for this innovation. Hydroponics fodder is grown under controlled environment in a six to 10 day cycle. Barley is the most preferred by the innovation due to its superior performance. Grains develop roots and green shoots to form a dense mat. Carbon dioxide addition cuts the growing time to four days and increases production by upto 25 percent.

144M² greenhouse can hold about 1800 trays and produce an average of 1200kg per day using only 800 to 1000 litres of water. This amount of fodder can be used to supplement 100 heads of cattle or 500 heads of sheep or goats per day.

Kenyan livestock farmers have found the following advantages in hydroponics fodder technology innovation:-

Hydroponics fodder technology innovation has ability to save water as its biggest advantage. It requires about two litres of water to produce one kilo of fodder compared to 80 to 90 litres required to produce one kilo of green grass. Hydroponics fodder technology also saves Kenyan livestock farmers the agony of expensive fodder storage facilities because the innovation guarantees a constant supply of high quality fodder.

Dairy goat rearing in Kenya

Omodi Displays HisGoat for Sale call 0721332750 

Dairy goats rearing in Kenya is growing fast and contributing to better human nutrition. Dairy goats’ milk is tasty and has higher nutritional value than cows’ milk due to high content of calcium and phosphorus. Most adults and children who are allergic to cows’ milk can tolerate goats’ milk. Increased number of people has become aware of this superior nutritional value and the market for goats’ milk and yoghurt is growing. Goats have become very popular with small scale farmers in urban and densely populated areas. Land sizes are too small to support daily cattle, in which case the goats are stall fed on fodder and crop residues. The main dairy goat breeds reared in Kenya include German alpine which is brown with a black stripe on the spine and shoulders, Toggenburg which is brown with white line on the face, legs, tail and has a high twining rate; Saanem which is white with pink skin pigmentation and has high twining rate, Anglo Nubian which is whitish brown with long drooping ears and adapted to hot climates .

The potential daily milk production of these breeds averages at four litres.

Breeding should be done for the first time at the age of 8-10 months while breeding bucks should have two well developed testicles, and should start mating at 10-12 months of age.

A good house is necessary for successful goat rearing and it should be rain and damp proof, well ventilated, free from sharp objects and direct weed, pest and wild animals proof and slated on the floor for free fall of droppings. A mature goat requires an area of 0.5-0.75 sq m when fully zero grazed. A goat house has two main areas namely sleeping area and feeding area. The sleeping area should have a wall all round with a door, and must be roofed and well ventilated. The feeding area should be open with no roof, fenced all round with a gate. It should have feed trough, water trough, feed racks, slated floor, and a rain proof mineral block pack area.

Goats like feeding at knee high level instead of grazing on the ground like sheep and cows. Goats should be supplied with fresh drinking water at all times. Stall feeding has many advantages and is therefore recommended as it:-

• Does not need a large amount of land as grazing pastures
• Can use many farm products like banana leaves, thinned maize, bean husks etc
• Saves time and labour
• Reduces deaths of kids
• Makes planning and managing breeding easy
• Keeps goats from damaging farm crops
• Makes manure collection easy
• Helps in controlling diseases

Dairy goats are clean feeders and will not eat dirty, stale or mouldy feeds.

A pregnant doe must be fed with high quality feed especially during the last two months. Supplementation with at least 200gm/day of daily meal is recommended. The doe must be provided with flesh water immediately after birth to balance the water loss, and produce enough milk for the newborn. Newborn kids should be fed on colostrums within 24 hours and should be allowed free suckling. At the age of one week kids should be provided with small quantities of good clean feed like sweet potato vines, fodder tree leaves or natural tree leaves. Kids should continue suckling for the first three weeks, and thereafter feed on milk mixed with fresh fodder up to 3-4 months. Water and fodder should be provided to the kids throughout the day for effective gradual learning.For more information read Food of Goat

A farmer should keep simple records of birth dates, birth weight, sire and dam [father and mother], milk records, treatment records, and service dates for effective management of the enterprise.

Read also-http://yagrein.blogspot.com/2013/11/dairy-farming-in-kenya-has-become.htValue addition of goat milk

Natural Goat yoghurt

Yoghurt is milk made sour by the use of two fermentation bacteria namely

• Lactobacillus bulgaricus which is an acid forming bacteria and
• Streptococcus thermophillus which produces yoghurt flavor.

General rules of yoghurt making

• Test the milk to ensure freshness
• Sieve the milk to remove any dirt particles
• Indirect heating using double saucepan or a water bath should be done to avoid sticking and formation of off-flavors

Ingredients

• 15 litres goat milk
• 2 gms bacteria culture
• 700 gms sugar
• Packaging materials

Procedure

• Pasteurization-Mix the milk with sugar, heat the mixture stirring until the sugar dissolves, continue heating to a temperature of 80-85ºC using a double saucepan and hold for 30 minutes.

• Inoculation-Fast cool the milk to 40-45ºC and inoculate with bacteria culture and stir thoroughly for 2 minutes
• Incubation-Store the milk in a thermostat for about 3 hours, at a temperature of 40-42ºC in order to coagulate. The mixture should not be disturbed at this stage otherwise it will separate.
• Fermentation-Leave the milk at room temperature for 8-12 hours in order to ferment
• Pack and fast cool to 10ºC in a refrigerator. If no refrigerator is available the yoghurt should be consumed within 12 hours.

NB:use only alcohol thermometer in order to avoid mercury poisoning in case of thermometer breakage.See  http://yagrein.blogspot.com/2014/03/small-scale-ice-cream-making-in-kenya.html