Factors Impacting Adoption and Performance of the
Forage Systems
In general, a great deal of research has been conducted to develop forage technologies for the coastal lowlands region and both researchers and extension officers have undertaken efforts to transfer the technologies to farmers. The researchers have demonstrated the benefits of practicing dairying—most importantly, improved health and food security and increased income. However, challenges also face the performance and adoption potential of forage production systems in the coastal lowland. Several authors have discussed these factors, which are summarized here.
One such limiting factor is that dairying is an expensive enterprise and requires capital for the purchase of, for example, dairy cows, for materials for the construction of sheds and for the planting of forages. Most of the households are poor and credit facilities are not readily available, including from the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC). Commercial banks operating in the region can provide loans but few farmers are willing to use them because of high interest rates. Clearly the availability of credit at lower interest rate would enhance the adoption of dairying in the region. Additionally, ECF and trypanosomiasis are prevalent in the region, causing high cattle losses, and many blame the diseases for their decision to abandon their dairy enterprise. Finally, poor infrastructure and long distances to market centres limit the potential of dairying in the region. There is no organized system of milk marketing and only producers near urban centres have markets for their milk.
Other factors specifically affect the performance and adoption potential of forages, including two that related to issues of land and labour. Also, a number of issues related to dissemination affect the performance and adoption potential of the forage system. Consequently, they can be quite readily impacted through improved efforts in extension.