Pastoral camel management practices in Kenya, characterised by free herd mobility that enables efficient utilisation of rangeland resources, is progressively restricted to foraging within the vicinity of urban milk market outlets. The emerging peri-urban camel production system (PUCPS) has potential livelihood benefits to households, but adapting herd management practices responsive to market demands is a challenge with implications for its sustained development. This study assessed marketing practices in PUCPS, guided by two research questions. To what extent are (i) camel keepers involved in trading of camel stock and milk? (ii) milk hygiene practices responsive to market demands? Data was obtained from cross-sectional surveys complemented by focus group discussions. Compared to the pastoral production system, the peri-urban system exhibited greater market integration with more milk marketing opportunities, 2.4 times more (25.8% vs 62.8%) steer sales and 2.2 times more heifer purchases for breeding (12.3% vs 27.5%). Camels were sold to meet livelihood needs of the households as well as to raise cash for other direct investments. On the other hand, PUCPS growth is facing market barriers from poor milk hygiene practices. Compared to the pastoral system, the peri-urban system exhibits greater market-oriented production of camel stock and milk. Existing milk hygiene and quality practices are unlikely to meet the safety and quality requirements for urban consumers. Development of organised marketing channels and strengthening of processes that add value to milk would enable camel producers to earn more from their stock and guarantee safety and quality to urban consumers.

National greenhouse-gas (GHG) inventories in most developing countries, and in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, use default (Tier I) GHG emission factors (EFs) provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to estimate enteric methane (CH4) emissions from livestock. Because these EFs are based on data primarily from developed countries, there is a high degree of uncertainty associated with CH4 emission estimates from African livestock systems. Accurate Tier II GHG emission reporting from developing countries becomes particularly important following the Paris Climate agreement made at COP21, which encourages countries to mitigate GHG emissions from agricultural sources. In light of this, the present study provides improved enteric CH4 emission estimates for cattle in Nandi County, Western Kenya, representing a common livestock production system found in East Africa. Using the data from measurements of liveweight and liveweight change, milk production and locomotion collected from 1143 cattle in 127 households across 36 villages over three major agro-ecological zones covering a full year, we estimated total metabolic energy requirements. From this and assessments of digestibility from seasonally available feeds, we estimated feed intake and used this to calculate daily CH4 production by season, and, subsequently, created new EFs. Mean EFs were 50.6, 45.5, 28.5, 33.2 and 29.0 kg CH4/head.year for females (>2 years), males (>2 years), heifers (1–2 years), young males (1–2 years) and calves (<1 year) respectively, and were lower than the IPCC Tier I estimates for unspecified African adult cattle, but higher for calves and young males. Thus, using IPCC Tier 1 EFs may overestimate current enteric CH4 emissions in some African livestock systems.

Mycotoxins are metabolites produced by phytopathogenic and spoilage fungi in animal feed as a result of poor storage. The mycotoxins can also originate in the field and are excreted in milk when dairy animals consume such feeds, posing a public health risk concern. The aim of this study was to conduct a risk assessment in the informal sub-value chains of rural and peri-urban dairy systems in Nakuru County, by determining the prevalence and quantity levels of mycotoxins in animal feeds and milk. A total of 74 animal feed samples and 120 milk samples were simultaneously collected from individual cows and actors in the informal dairy value chain. Feed samples were analyzed for Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and Deoxynivalenol (DON) while milk samples were analyzed for Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) using commercial Enzyme Linked Immune Sorbent Assay (ELISA) method. Aflatoxin B1 contamination levels in 56 % (41/74) of the animal feeds exceeded the European Union (EU) limits of 5 μg/kg ranging between 0 and 147.86 μg/kg. Deoxynivalenol (DON) was identified in 63 % (27/43) of all the animal feeds ranging between 0 and 179.89 μg/kg. In the peri-urban dairy system, 48.5 % (33/68) of the milk samples were contaminated with the AFM1 concentration above the EU regulation of 0.05 μg/L ranging between 0.017 and 0.083 μg/L. All milk samples from the rural dairy system had AFM1 contamination levels below the EU limits of 0.05 μg/L ranging between 0 and 0.041 μg/L. Linear regression model showed significant association of abiotic factors; pH, water activity and moisture content of animal feed with AFB1 and DON contamination of the animal feeds. The results obtained from this study indicate that the peri-urban dairy farms, where intensive management predominate face the challenge of quality feeds, and one contributing factor is the on-farm production and handling of animal feeds.