The Feed the Future Kenya Crops and Dairy Market Systems (KCDMS) Activity is a five-year USAID-funded program that works to increase agricultural production and reduce poverty and malnutrition in Kenya by spurring competitive, inclusive, and resilient market systems in the horticulture and dairy sectors. Working in 12 of Kenya’s 47 counties, since 2017 KCDMS has partnered with over 200 agribusinesses and 300,000 farmers improve the policy enabling environment for private sector growth, increase access to finance, and strengthen the capacity of small and medium sized enterprises in the dairy and horticulture sectors. 

Globally, methane emissions related to dairy production

contribute significantly to overall greenhouse gas (GHG)

pollution. Aligned with the Global Methane Pledge, USAID

is supporting efforts to reduce emissions and limit a global

temperature rise above 1.5˚C.

At the same time, more than 800 million people around

the world are undernourished, including more than 14

million Kenyans, with agriculture – a substantial source

of GHGs – remaining the most promising pathway to lift

them out of hunger and poverty.

In the dairy sector, KCDMS has worked closely with

farmers, cooperatives, businesses, and county governments

over the past five years to

build market linkages and access;

improve breeding and animal health;

leverage extension and advisory services; and

promote fodder commercialization, access to better

inputs, and support for policy and legislation.

To balance these food security and nutrition-supporting

interventions with the growing threat of climate change,

KCDMS commissioned a baseline and endline study in

2019 and 2022, respectively, to determine:

1. The impact of dairy value chain activities on methane

emissions intensity in its geographic zone of influence,

and

2. The impact of improving dairy animal nutrition on

smallholder dairy productivity

Implications for Kenya’s

Dairy Sector

This study indicates that the KCDMS approach

to improve productivity in the dairy sector was

successful and that the methods could be scaled

up to improve farmer incomes and community

nutrition.

There is potential to increase – and almost

double – dairy productivity in Kenya while

further reducing methane emissions intensity by

scaling up the training of more animal nutrition

extensionists to advise producers on improving

feeding practices and management. In addition,

evidence points to further improvements in

productivity and methane intensity based on

these dairy cattle feeding practices:

Proper and increased use of mineral

supplements, particularly calcium;

Reduction in the feeding of maize stover to

lactating dairy cows; and

Improved feeding of dairy calves and heifers.

At the macro level, Kenya should establish

International Organization for Standardization certified wet chemistry analysis capability to give

producer groups the ability to check milk quality,

and the feed industry access to the tools to

improve quality and consistency

Implications for Future Programming

These findings indicate that, if the relationship between dairy-related

practices and methane emissions is well understood and measured,

program implementation has the potential to achieve a “triple win” for

planetary health:

• Increased dairy productivity
• Improved nutrition outcomes due to availability of milk products
• Reduction in negative environmental impact

Existing and future programs working in the dairy sector should be

encouraged to invest in similar baseline and endline studies to both

inform program activities and monitor progress toward methane

emissions. 

Original source can be found here.