Role of Modern Dairy Farming Technologies in Enhancing Milk Productivity: A Case of Meru County, Kenya

In the evolving dairy farming landscape, entrepreneurs strive to optimize milk yield by adopting modern dairy farming technologies (MDFTs). These technologies encompass the implementation of improved feeding strategies and good animal health management, utilization of improved breeding practices, and maintenance of optimal cow comfort. The adoption of these MDFTs leads to increased milk production among the smallholders which significantly contributes to income generation through the sales of milk to local markets and dairy processors, opens employment opportunities and empowers women economically. Despite the proven efficacy of these advancements, their adoption remains disproportionately low, contributing to the persistent inefficiencies in the sector. This study sought to evaluate the impact of MDFT adoption on farm-level milk production among smallholder dairy farmers in Meru County Kenya. Employing purposive and proportionate sampling techniques, data was collected from 355 dairy farming households within the study area. The Cobb-Douglas stochastic production model was utilized to evaluate the effect of adopting MDFTs on milk productivity. The findings revealed that several key factors like; support services, impute costs, dairy equipment, cow health, fodder establishment and preservation techniques, and genetic enhancement of dairy herds significantly influenced the amount of milk that was produced by an individual cow per day. These results underscore the urgent need for policy reforms aimed at strengthening the integration of training programs on MDFTs. Specifically, there is a pressing necessity to facilitate knowledge dissemination and expedite the widespread adoption of transformative dairy farming innovations. By fostering a conducive environment for technological advancement. Keywords: Livestock farming, dairy farming, milk productivity, rural development, women employment, Cobb-Douglas production function.