Enhancing Milk Production of Lactating Camels in Kenya via Supplementation of the Invasive Cactus (Opuntia stricta) In the Diet

Enhancing Milk Production of Lactating Camels in Kenya via Supplementation of the Invasive Cactus (Opuntia stricta) In the Diet

Climate change leading to prolonged and recurrent droughts, changes in land use, primarily settlement of pastoralists, followed by overgrazing and subsequent land degradation, has made the highly drought resistant opuntia flourish and be aggressively invasive in the Kenya’s rangelands. Camel keeping has increasingly replaced cattle as a climate adaptation strategy and also as a result of a steady increase in demand for camel milk due to the associated nutritional and health benefits,To address the challenge of lack of pasture during prolonged drought, there is the need to utilize the invasive cactus as fodder. The invasive cactus can be a kind of 'Drought-Insurance' in these regions due to its ability to retain its nutrition and productivity in water deficit conditions. This study reports on the incorporation of the invasive cactus together with a protein source in increasing the milk yield of lactating camels in one of the semi-arid land regions of Kenya.