Abstract

Bernard Kabagambe*, Maureen NM and Kungu JM

Aim: Even though Kabale municipality farmers apply some degree of zero grazing knowledge in the practice of dairy cattle zero grazing farming practices, there has been a minimal study to reduce the knowledge gap that exists within this enterprise.

Objective: The study sought to examine the knowledge and practices of dairy cattle zero grazing farmers in Kabale municipality, Kabale district a south western region in Uganda.

Design, Setting, Participants: Data was collected using cross-sectional study design both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in which the design allowed data to be collected at a single point in time to capture important aspects of the study. The researcher collected only primary data directly from the respondents of the selected farmers using a self-administered questionnaire to accomplish the study. The targeted population was 700 zero grazing cattle keepers within Kabale municipality from which the researcher obtained a sample size of 255 obtained by applying the Yamane (1967:886) formula for purposes of this study. Interventions: Selected farmers were interviewed on various aspects of dairy cattle zero grazing practices in order to determine the extent of knowledge they have in the practice.

Main Outcome Measure: The primary outcome measure was based on determining the extent or degree of knowledge possessed and applied practically by dairy cattle zero grazing farmers in Kabale Municipality, Kabale district.

Results: The main findings were that most of the dairy farmers in the study area demonstrated having basic knowledge about zero-grazing (80% of the respondents) but with limited awareness of vital technical skills in improved feeds and feeding; disease management; breed selection; and housing. The attitude of dairy farmers towards zero-grazing was mixed with positive perception attributed to profitability, space requirement, manure accumulation and disease control while negative perception was based on laborious nature of the enterprise, the time demanded and the cost incurred in starting up the use of the technology.

Conclusion: It is therefore imperative that players in the country’s agricultural extension system need to boost efforts towards developing key transferrable knowledge packages and deliver such to dairy farmers on a regular basis to ensure the most efficient practices of dairy cattle zero grazing is a success in Kabale Municipality.