Economic Opportunity Small Scale Dairy Farms at Keren Sub Zone of Eritrea

The investigation had the following specific objectives to assess production and financial management on SCD at Keren Sub Zone and the record keeping system of the SCD at Keren Sub Zone and to identify areas of economic opportunity on SCD at Keren Sub Zone by comparing herd data to local targets. The stratified random sampling method was adapted to select representative samples. Thus, 30 dairy farms were selected for economic opportunity survey under present investigation including 13, 11, 4 and 2 samples from the dairy farms having herd size 1-5, 6-10, 11-15 and more than 16, respectively, in Anseba Region; Sub Zone Keren. To conduct the survey standardized questionnaires, inventory, interview, on-farm visits and direct observations were utilized. Data collected were entered into four sheets of economic opportunity survey files in Microsoft Office Excel 2007, followed by statistical analysis using standard statistical methods and techniques. Important findings included that the SCD at Keren Sub Zone had the opportunity from lactation length, milk production, health care cost/cows and total economic opportunities, but not from calf mortality, age at first calving, calving interval and a number of dead/total number of born alive or dead. The most of the SCD were having record keeping system at Keren Sub Zone. It is concluded that firstly the ministry of agriculture should have hard working to increase the awareness of the famers on scientific managerial practices of dairy cattle and providing subsidies. Producers should have a continuous assessment of the profitability of their farms. Producers should have their own pasture land because there may be fluctuation in market supply of the green feeds. Producers should identify the area of economic opportunity and rank according to their importance to take the accurate intervention to get the profit. Producers should formulate a ration for each class of animals on the farm according to their requirement to make the profit rather than feeding blindly. Producers should have full records of the farm activity including detailed information on an individual cow in the farm.