Poor production methods and limited market access continue to hold back small African cattle farmers from developing, according to studies in Kenya and South Africa.
A comparative study exploring the challenges farmers face in two cattle-farming provinces in South Africa and Kenya found that broker controlled markets — prevalent in Kenya — should be avoided in South Africa as market access for farmers is improved. It further identified the Meat Naturally Initiative (MNI), a sustainable livestock farming and land use initiative in the Eastern Cape, as a successful case study that could be replicated in both countries to tackle these challenges and increase the access and participation of small-scale farmers in beef markets.
