Youth agripreneurs' preferences and willingness to pay for climate-smart dairy technologies in Kenya

Nakuru County, a leading dairy farming region in Kenya, faces challenges such as climate variability, high feed costs, and limited access to modern technologies, which hinder productivity and profitability. Youth agripreneurs, in particular, struggle with limited capital, inadequate training, and insufficient market linkages, constraining their ability to adopt innovative practices. This study evaluates youth dairy agripreneurs' preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for climate-smart dairy (CSD) technologies using a choice experiment. The key attributes examined include Carbon-smart (concentrate feeding and fodder management), Weather-smart (climate-smart housing and livestock insurance), Knowledge-smart (improved crop varieties and fodder banks), and Business-smart (contingent livestock planning and financial management) technologies. Data from 384 dairy youth agripreneurs in Nakuru County were analyzed using a Mixed Logit model. Results indicate significant heterogeneity in preferences. Concentrate feeding (β = 4.928, p = 0.01) and contingent livestock planning (β = 1.748, p = 0.01) were highly valued, while livestock insurance (β = -1.210, p = 0.01) and improved crop varieties (β = -1.208, p = 0.01) were less preferred. Youth agripreneurs were willing to pay KES 4742.73/month for concentrate feeding and KES 1682.41/month for contingent livestock planning, significantly higher than their WTP for livestock insurance or improved crop varieties. These findings provide insights for program designers to align investments with youths' preferred CSD technologies and promote sustainable dairy production.