The Lake Basin Region occupies an area of 38,913 km2 (exclusive of the Kenyan part of Lake Victoria) and in 1988 had an estimated population of 8.9 million people, representing approximately 6.8% of the total land area and 40% of the total population of Kenya (LBDA, 1990). In 1985 the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Region was estimated to be K£ 970 million or 23.5% of the GDP of Kenya.
The Region's economy is based on agriculture. The main crops grown within the Region include 1) staple crops - maize, sorghum, finger millet, rice, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, cassava, beans and banana, 2) cash crops - coffee, tea, sugar cane, cotton, sunflower, pyrethrum, groundnuts, sisal and wheat, and 3) horticultural crops - citrus, onions, tomatoes, passion fruits, papaya, cabbage and sukumawiki. Table 2 presents the national and regional production of the major agricultural products, including livestock and fisheries, in Kenya. The proximate composition and cost of the major feed ingredients, compound animal feeds and chemical fertilizers available in Kenya is shown in Table 3 and Table 4, respectively. Table 5 shows the major animal feed manufacturers and suppliers within Kenya.
At present many potential feed resources still remain untapped in Kenya, including slaughterhouse wastes (meat, bones, blood, hair, feathers, gastro-intestinal tracts, rumen contents), sugar cane factory wastes (Bagasse), coffee processing wastes (coffee pulp), and occasionally posho mill sweepings.
