Beef Production Systems in Kenya 14th October, 2022

BEEF PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN
KENYA
BY
Mr. Jackson Muchiri
Department of Animal Production
University of Nairobi
Types of beef production systems
used in Kenya
1. Extensive grazing systems
– Pastoralism (transhumance, nomadism,
silvopastoralism)
– Ranching
2. Semi-intensive grazing systems
– Agro-pastoralism
3. Intensive systems
– Feedlots
Pastoralism
• Three types: 1. Transhumance: regular seasonal movement in
search of pasture and water. 2. Nomadism: irregular
3. Silvopastoralism: Trees + Fodder + Livestock grazing
• Purpose: Subsistence (personal consumption and survival)
• Feeding: Grazing on natural grasslands
• Land ownership: communal lands
• Breeds: zebu, boran and sahiwal
• Grouping: kept in mixed herds (bulls, cows, heifers) and mixed
with other species (sheep, goats, camels, donkeys)
• Location: Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs)
• Challenges: seasonal productivity, conflicts over pasture and
water, low vaccination rates, unregulated drug use,
destruction of fragile ecosystems
• Low input-low output system= 70% of beef meat in Kenya?
SILVOPASTORALISM
Ranching
• Purpose: Commercial targeting local niche and export
markets
• Feeding: natural and cultivated pastures & fodder, and
supplementary feed (especially dry season)
• Land ownership: private and public (government ranches)
• Breeds: Improved indigenous breeds and exotic crosses
• Grouping: Cow-calf, weaners, yearlings, breeding bulls
• Location: Mostly Laikipia and Taita Taveta counties
• Challenges: high feed costs especially during dry season
supplementation, low access to affluent markets, conflicts
with pastoralists, diseases from wildlife (most ranches are
wildlife conservancies)
• Intermediate input-output system: Intermediate between
extensive systems and semi-intensive and intensive systems
Semi-intensive systems
• Purpose: Subsistence
• Feeding: natural pasture and crop residues and byproducts
• Land ownership: grazing on communal lands or private paddocks
that cannot be cultivated
• Breeds: Dual purpose exotic crosses and pure exotic breeds
• Grouping: mixed herds, mostly without bulls (use A.I.)
• Location: arable ASALs- coast, lower eastern, north and south rift
• Challenges: diseases and internal and external parasites,
seasonal fluctuation of feeds, mycotoxin contamination of crop
byproducts and ‘feed grade’ feeds
• Low-input low-output system
Intensive systems
• Types: 1. Fattening dairy culls and dairy bull calves
2. Fattening beef breeds
• Purpose: Commercial- local niche and export markets
• Feeding: fodder (napier grass, hay or silage), grains, cereal
milling byproducts, oil seed cakes and minerals
• Land ownership: private
• Breeds: Improved indigenous breeds, exotic crosses, and
exotic breeds
• Grouping: finishing/ fattening animals
• Location: Nakuru, Nyeri and Kajiado counties
• Challenges: Lack capital for expansion, animal congestion
(welfare issues), environmental pollution by dung
• High input-high output system
Recommended system of keeping beef
cattle in Kenya.
Beef production should be stratified to take advantage of the
existing ecological zones.
• Rangelands
– The Southern rangelands (Narok, Kajiado, Taita Taveta
counties etc)
– The Northern rangelands (Turkana, West Pokot, Baringo,
Samburu, Laikipia, Isiolo, Garissa counties etc)
• Medium potential lands
– Machakos, Nakuru counties
• High potential (arable) lands: e.g. Kiambu, Uasin Gishu,
Nakuru counties and western Kenya region
Suggested beef management
1. The Cow-calf system
• Based in the rangelands with a major objective of keeping
breeding cows in the rangelands to provide calves that
would be raised here until weaning.
• The system would take advantage of the zebu cows from
the pastoral communities as breeding stock and use
imported semen to produce crossbred calves.
• The calves ‘run’ with their mothers (day and night) until
they reach 9-12 months old and/or 150kg
• At 9-12 months of age these calves would be weaned and
sold to farmers in the next production system.
2. The feeder cattle system
• Young cattle bought at weaning (9-12 months) are
kept in high quality pasture to grow to a certain
desired weight i.e. It is a growing phase.
• This system depends on well maintained grasslands
and minimum rates of supplementation (mineral,
proteins etc) for the animal to put on an extra
150kgs in a period of 9 – 12 months to reach 300kgs.
• This system would be based mainly in the medium
potential lands.
3. Finishing/ feedlot cattle system
• Cattle are kept on an intensive feeding system based
on grazing and harvested fodders for a short period
of 3 – 4 months, to gain an extra 100 kgs to reach
400kg before slaughter: You can produce 3-4 lots in a
year
• Based in high potential areas where the green
fodders (mainly maize silage) would be cultivated to
provide the feeds.
• In addition, grains (cereals and legumes) and cereal
milling byproducts would be used as feeds.
Advantages of the feedlot system.
1. High quality meat produced: It improves the quality of the
meat thereby raising the price.
2. Quick Returns On Investment (ROI): The cattle are held in
the system for a short period of time hence turn over
rates are high
3. Low risk due to short handling period (3-4 months): It
reduces the risk of loss of animals to drought therefore
safeguarding capital investments.
4. Reduces greenhouse gas emissions from the beef animals:
high quality pastures and supplementation with grains and
cereal milling byproducts produce less methane in the
rumen compared to low quality pastures and crop
residues.
Disadvantages of feedlots
1. High capital investment: for purchasing and construction of stalls,
feeding equipment and purchase of feed and breeding stock.
2. Lack of high quality animals: high quality animals are very
expensive and their availability in the market is seasonal
(depends on the severity of the dry season).
3. Ethical concerns: feeding grains to cattle in a food insecure
country.
4. Environmental concerns: accumulation of dung that will pollute
the air (odour) and underground and surface water, greenhouse
gas emissions from cattle bomas and heaped dung
5. Animal welfare concerns: confinement of animals in small spaces.

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