The Volunteer Farmer Trainer Approach Three Years after the Exit of the East Africa Dairy Development Project: A Case Study of Four Dairy Producer Organizations in Kenya

The dairy sector in Kenya contributes to the incomes of smallholder farmers through employment and the sale of milk and dairy products. Due to the population increase, the demand for milk and other dairy products have continued to increase. In order to meet the demand, the dairy sector has embraced collective action in rural areas where farmers have been organized in producer organizations (POs) which collect /gather milk together from the small holder farmers, chill the milk to ensure that the product gets to the consumer in good condition. The POs strategy is to draw themselves out of poverty by organizing themselves to; (i) more effectively manage their own assets; (iii) gain access to services, inputs, credit, market outlets; (iv) have a more effective input in decision-making processes that affect their lives.To support these efforts, 19 dairy POs with the support of the East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) project have put efforts to enhance extension which is the backbone of increased production. The Volunteer Farmer Trainer (VFT) approach, a community based extension approach was initiated in 2008 when the project activities began to help the POs realize their targets for increasing milk production. In 2013, the EADD project phased out its support in some of the POs that had shown the ability to sustain their operations, including extension without external support. This study was therefore initiated to assess the sustainability of the VFT approach in four selected POs three years after the exit of the EADD project.The main aim of this study was to assess whether dairy POs previously supported by EADD projects in Central and Rift Valley regions of Kenya are still using the VFT approach three years after the EADD project stopped supporting them and the degree to which VFTs are working with other organizations to train farmers. In Rift Valley, POs that were selected for this study were Metkei Multipurpose Limited and Tanykina while in Central Kenya the selected POs were Mweiga Dairies and Olkalou Dairies. These POs had been supported from 2008 to 2013 during phase one of the EADD project.Findings of the study show that about 78% of the interviewed VFTs were men. A majority of VFTs were aged between 36 and 50 years with a mean age of 49.5±9.9 years ranging from 28 to 73 years of age. The survey further revealed that VFTs are now being referred to as peer farmer trainers (PFTs) in all the sites visited. The exit of EADD resulted in irregular training and inadequate provision of AI services to the farmers. This was partly because the funds used to support the VFTs by the EADD project were no longer available. The PO stepped in and identified other organisations to train VFTs and farmers. The entry of several training organizations has helped farmers to remain motivated and to continue volunteering to train others and remain united even after the exit of EADD due to the technical backstopping they receive.This study has shown that VFTs are still training other farmers in Central and Rift Valley three years after the exit of EADD project. A majority of the farmers have received training on fodder/pasture establishment and fodder conservation technologies. Furthermore, VFTs have demonstration plots which they use for training. This study has also shown that the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MALF) extension officers continue to partner with VFTs when training farmers. This is commendable since it provides an opportunity for VFTs to improve their knowledge and skills.The study has also revealed that techniques such as AI services that VFTs had adopted are now being commercialized and hence taken by some of the VFTs as a business development service (BDS). For example, from field observations, farmers admitted that VFTs are still training on value addition of fodder using different technologies and some VFTs had graduated into business providers by purchasing pulverisers to pulverize fodder for other farmers at a fee. This shows that VFTs are re-inventing themselves to provide farmers not just training but other services at a fee. This in itself is a motivation to the VFTs because they are receiving some financial benefits for providing services to farmers beyond just training.

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