Tropentag, September 10 - 12, 2025, Bonn "Reconciling land system changes with planetary health"

What information is important to pastoral women in milk management and marketing?

¹University of Göttingen, Fac. of Agricultural Sciences, Germany
²German Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture (DITSL), Germany

Abstract

Pastoral milk production from cattle, camels, goats, and sheep constitutes 18% of Kenya’s national milk production, valued at $462 million. Of this, 85% is consumed within households, and 15% is sold in small towns and local markets. Although previous studies have examined women’s roles in milking practices, the specific information they observe and prioritise during milking and marketing remains underexplored. This study aims to understand what information is important to women, particularly in relation to household milk management and marketing.
Data was collected with Rendille and Borana women in northern Kenya from April 2024 to August 2024 using participatory methods. Out of 85 sessions, 5 daily activity clocks, 12 focus group discussions, 10 role plays and 8 semi-structured interviews focused on milking practices and marketing. Qualitative data was analysed using the activity and knowledge analysis, where “information” is understood as women’s observation, knowledge and assumptions arising from their interactions and engagement with their livestock and environment.
Findings show that women aim to have sufficient milk for household and offspring nutrition. In order to achieve this, they monitor and segregate lactating animals based on milk yield, ensure adequate grazing and water, maintain milk freshness and cleanliness, and monitor animal health. They handle milk deficit problems, due in part to disease, or other factors such as multiple births in goats, perinatal mortality, and actively mitigate the production shortfalls during the dry season. Surplus milk during the wet season is sold in local markets. However, women face barriers to expanding into larger urban markets due to asymmetric information access and trust issues with local market actors. Additionally, previous interventions have led to intra-community knowledge asymmetries, creating disparities among women in access to information on value addition and marketing strategies.
This research highlights that women's informational practices are dynamic, strategic, and central to household resilience. Addressing barriers to information access requires targeted, gender-responsive interventions that promote fair and equitable training opportunities, knowledge co-creation, and support for local innovations, ensuring all women within pastoralist communities can equally benefit from evolving market opportunities.

Keywords: Borana, information needs, milk marketing , pastoral women, Rendille

Contact Address: Keerthana Sri Krishnan Sathyabama, University of Göttingen, Fac. of Agricultural Sciences, Göttingen, Germany, e-mail: keerthikridtz08gmail.com