Meet Peris Chege: Head of Skills Training and Content Development at Prodairy East Africa Ltd
Peris with Tom Ole Sikar (NEADAP coordinator for Tanzania) and a young farmer from Tanga, during a farm walk in Tanga, Tanzania
Meet Peris Chege, the Head of Skills Training and Content Development at Prodairy East Africa Ltd . Peris grew up in Kitale and has always been passionate about cows since her childhood days. Her interest in cows led her to pursue a degree in Animal Science at Egerton University, and after her studies, she joined a dairy development project with SNV Kenya. Peris gained experience in dairy farm management, digital herd management systems, ruminant nutrition, and sustainable and cost-effective forage production.
Left: On a farm visit Peris is quickly hands-on helping the farmer Right: Showing participants of a Rumen8 training how to interpret manure washing.
In her current role at Prodairy, Peris coordinates the on-farm skills training on best practices in dairy and beef farming. This includes the training of dairy advisors working with Rumen8, which is a software application for cow diet formulation.
Peris also creates content for knowledge and learning platforms on dairy and beef farming and acts as a farm coach to bring medium and large-scale dairy and beef farms to the next level. She started as a trainer at SNV’s Kenyan Market-led Dairy Project (KMDP) getting critical experience that she applies at Prodairy.
"I started off as a practical skills trainer in one of the practical dairy training centres which were initiated under the SNV KMDP program, thereafter I was responsible for the helpdesk and roll out of Uniform Agri, a herd management tool for dairy farmers, in Kenya. This tool taught me the importance of keeping farm data to calculate key performance indicators to make informed decisions on a dairy farm in East Africa."
Left: Peris sampling forages in a field in Meru County to be sent to the lab for processing and analyses. Right: Peris training farmers on improved fodder production and management for cut and carry farming systems
Prodairy and NEADAP are working closely together in East Africa to ensure the successful adoption of the Rumen8 application. They are targeting universities in East Africa with a program in Animal Science/nutrition and inviting local stakeholders like government extension staff, feed millers, dairy cooperatives, and dairy advisors to join the training. Prodairy and Rumen8 Australia also developed a set of materials for trainers, which are all freely available and downloadable from the Internet. You can download them here.
Left: Peris conducting a farm walk with the farmer which is essential before ration are formulated with Rumen8. Here they are scoring the body condition of the cow. Right: Peris discussing with the farmer several rations for his dairy cows using Rumen8 application.
During the pilot phase of the Rumen8 project, which took place in Kenya and Uganda on more than 60 small and medium-scale farms since 2019, farmers who implemented the farm coach recommended diet improved their margin above feed cost and optimized the milk production of their cows. When using Rumen8 software application this creates awareness amongst stakeholders in the dairy sector about the relation between quality of feeds and the cost/price of feeds in addition ration formulation is a relatively fast and effective way to improve dairy farm productivity, farm profits, and the start of a sustainable dairy sector in East Africa.
Interested in Rumen8 training opportunities?
Reach Peris at rumen8eastafrica@gmail.com or info@prodairy.co.ke
Author
Peris Chege
Dairy Coach & Consultant, ProDairy E.A Ltd
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