Multi-level association rule mining for the discovery of strong underrepresented patterns : the case study of small dairy farms in Tanzania

Increasing the milk production of small dairy producers is necessary to cover the increase in milk demand in Tanzania. Currently, the population of people in both Tanzania and the world has increased and is predicted to increase more in the year 2050. The use of multilevel association rule mining methods to mine strong patterns among smallholder dairy farmers could help in identifying the best dairy farming practices and increase their milk production by adopting them. This study employed multi-level association rule mining to discover strong rules in three clusters, resulting in three levels of rules in each cluster. These three clusters were high, medium, and low milk producers. Rules were obtained for feeding practices, milk production, and breeding and health practices. These rules represent strong patterns among smallholder dairy farmers that could help them improve their dairy farming practices and have a gradual increase in milk production, from low to medium and from medium to higher milk production. Smallholder dairy producers would be provided with recommendations on their dairy farming practices, using rules based on the cluster to which they belong that could help them achieve higher milk production.