A gendered analysis of goat ownership and marketing in Meru, Kenya

Abstract

Studies show that women are more likely to own small, rather than, large livestock. This study sought to establish gendered preference for different livestock species while focusing on the gendered differences in ownership, management, and marketing of goats in Meru, Kenya. Men demonstrated a higher preference for cattle than women, who had a higher preference for poultry than men. Men and women preferred goats equally, but women derived and managed more income from goats than men. Development projects should apply a gender lens before introducing different livestock species as gender differences exist in the preference and the management of different livestock.

Selon certaines études, les femmes sont plus susceptibles d'avoir un cheptel composé de petites bêtes, et non d'animaux de grande taille. La présente étude a cherché à établir quelle est la préférence selon le sexe concernant différentes espèces de bétail tout en se concentrant sur les différences fondées sur le genre pour ce qui est de la propriété, de la gestion et de la commercialisation des chèvres à Meru, au Kenya. Les hommes ont exprimé une plus grande préférence que les femmes pour les bovins, tandis que les femmes étaient plus nombreuses que les hommes à préférer les volailles. Les hommes et les femmes préféraient les chèvres en nombre égal, mais les femmes tiraient et géraient plus de revenus des chèvres que les hommes. Les projets de développement devraient tenir compte des questions de genre avant d'introduire différentes espèces de bétail, car il existe des différences pour ce qui est de la préférence et de la gestion de différents animaux.

Ciertas investigaciones sugieren que las mujeres suelen preferir ser dueñas de animales pequeños más que de especies grandes. El objetivo del presente estudio se orientó a identificar las preferencias en torno a la posesión de distintas especies animales, detectando las diferencias que se presentan según el género en términos de la propiedad, el manejo y el comercio de cabras en Meru, Kenia. Se constató que los hombres mostraron una preferencia más elevada que las mujeres por el ganado vacuno; en contraposición, las mujeres manifestaron mayor preferencia que los hombres por las aves de corral. A su vez, ambos géneros revelaron una preferencia similar por las cabras, aunque las mujeres obtuvieron y administraron más ingresos provenientes de las cabras que los hombres. Lo anterior da cuenta de que los proyectos de desarrollo deben aplicar un enfoque de género antes de introducir distintas especies animales en el ámbito de su trabajo, ya que cada género muestra preferencias diferenciadas respecto al tipo de ganado que desea criar y administrar.

Keywords:

• Environment (built and natural) – agriculture
• Gender and diversity
• Labour and livelihoods – Poverty reduction
• Civil society – NGOs
• Sub-Saharan Africa

Acknowledgements

This article is based on the results of a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the Meru Goat Breeders Association project as part of a larger study on ‘Gendered Analysis of Livestock Value Chains in Kenya and Tanzania’ funded by the Ford Foundation and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada. The study was implemented by the Poverty Gender and Impacts team of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

We would like to acknowledge the MGBA officials and especially Patrick Mutia and Victoria Gathoni together with other MGBA officials for mobilising community elders and farmers who helped us generate sampling frames; the enumerators from Meru who conducted most of the household interviews; and Mugure Kibaara who co-facilitated the focus group discussion and probed in the ki-Meru language. Thanks to Abisalom Omollo, ILRI, who provided the Meru market maps and the farmers who dedicated many hours in interviews and discussions with us. We are truly grateful and owe these research findings and recommendations to you.

Last, but by no means least, many thanks to ILRI management for providing a research-conducive environment; and Chris R. Field and FARM Africa, Mwingi office, for providing much of the background information.

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth Waithanji holds a PhD in Geography, an MSc in Clinical Studies, and a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVM). Her current work focuses on understanding gender and livestock, looking at the roles of men and women in livestock production in Africa and Asia and the role that livestock can play as pathway out of poverty, especially for rural women and marginalised communities.

Jemimah Njuki holds a PhD in Development Studies and a BSc in Dairy Science and Technology. Her current work focuses on understanding gender and livestock, looking at the roles of men and women in livestock production in Africa and Asia, and the role that livestock can play as pathway out of poverty, especially for rural women and marginalised communities.

Sam Mburu holds a Master of Science degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Nairobi and a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics, Egerton University-Kenya. His professional interests include: poverty and gender analysis, agricultural marketing and livestock insurance. He has a wide experience in design and execution of research projects and data analysis.

Juliet Kariuki holds a Master of Arts degree in Environment, Culture and Society and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. Her current work focuses on understanding marketing and intra-household dynamics of poor men and women in livestock-dependent households from Africa and social research on pastoralists' vulnerability to climate change.

Fredrick Njeru holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nairobi. He has wide experience in the dairy goat value chains, and with the international NGO FARM Africa, has been working on this value chain with poor farmers in Meru and Kitui for close to 15 years.

Notes

1 Five men lasted from the beginning to the end of the FGD. The discussion, which took about two hours, had started with 12 men and 12 women. At the end, five men and 11 women were remaining.

2 The study reported here was part of a larger study on eight livestock value chains in Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique. A sample of 40 households was selected for each value chain studied. The small proportion of female-headed household represented the actual proportion of female-headed households in the community. In this study, statistical tests were applied to intra-household and not inter-household gender analysis owing to the disproportionate representation of male and female-headed households in the population. To make intra-household gender analysis possible, individual data were collected from primary men and primary women from male-headed households.

3 These included women heads of households who had never married, were divorced, separated, or widowed.

4 In Kenya, the dairy cow value chain is well established with milk collection systems in place. Dairy cow farmers are more affluent than dairy goat farmers. A dairy goat is considered the poor man's cow in most of Kenya (Peacock 1996). MGBA members were mainly dairy goat farmers and those who sold cow milk did so in very small quantities.