Meat Industry in Kenya Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Meat Industry in Kenya - Research Paper Example The livestock marketing council found in Kenya is a private entity that plays the role of advocating for the rights of livestock traders and assists them in marketing of their products. The banks found in Kenya provide individuals and organizations with agricultural loans to boost their agricultural undertakings including livestock keeping and trading in livestock. The government of Kenya runs the management of the public body that has monopolized the meat processing sector in Kenya. This includes provision of financial support for this corporation. Most of the privately owned firms dealing with livestock and livestock products are privately run. The management of such firms supports them financially and ensure that they are run in the desired way (Ngugi 2001pp52-63). Social and cultural factors affecting the meat industry in Kenya Most of the societies living in Kenya place no restrictions to consumption of meat with the very insignificant exemption of the Indians living in this country. This therefore means that the meat industry sells most of its products to the Kenyan local community. Most of the Kenyan communities value red meat and incorporates its consumption in many of their cultural ceremonies including weddings, initiation and even burial ceremonies. This has a positive impact to the meat industry due to the large public meat consumption during the ceremonies. Kenyan communities are further divided into subcultures which hold a number of social gatherings to deliberate on issues affecting them. Most of these subcultures normally take the red meat as the main diet served during such gatherings. An infamous group that dotes on red meat when holding its social gatherings is the 'Mungiki'. Technological factors affecting meat... The paper describes the determinants of demand for meat in Kenya. The price at which meat is sold determines the demand for it. When the price of meat goes up, fewer individuals will be willing to buy it. They feel like buying the meat at a higher price takes most of the money at their disposal away. Locals prefer to buy foods that can be supplemented with meat like beans or lentils for the provision of proteins in the body. This idea is mostly influenced by an increase in the price of the meat, which makes them reluctant to buy the expensive meat and prefer cheap protein supplements. When meat substitutes cost less than the meat itself, the local demand for meat shifts to the ‘more affordable’ substitutes. The Kenyan locals for example prefer to take fish or animal organs like the intestines, kidney or liver which costs less than the meat itself. The income levels also determine meat consumption within the local Kenyan setting. With most of the households leading a poor life, meat is commonly viewed as a luxury for the rich. Hence, the humble households consume meat less while the rich ones consume meat very frequently. The above characterizes the consumption of meat within social, geographical or even cultural levels. Since meat costs much higher than most other sources of income, those people living in areas where income is high will buy more meat than those areas where income is low. Thus, the Kenyan suburbs records high meat intake, than the slums.