Banner image: Cows on Kapiti Ranch in Machakos, Kenya, managed by ILRI.

Dairy is the single largest agricultural sub-sector in Kenya and contributes about 15 percent of Ethiopia’s total national GDP. Women play a leading role in East African dairy production, which also contributes to nutrition and food security by increasing access to vital nutrients and protein. At the same time, livestock is one of the most significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, contributing almost 50 percent of Ethiopia's emissions. East African countries will not be able to meet targets for emissions reductions without significant investment in rethinking the livestock sector.
 
How can we reconcile the dairy sector’s high rate of emissions with the important benefits that dairy production can bring to East Africa? To tackle this, we first must understand the concept of emissions intensity. Emissions intensity, in the case of dairy, is the amount of methane per liter of milk produced. Cows that are fed poorly will produce significantly less milk while still producing the same amount of enteric methane. Across the region, access to quality forage to feed dairy cows is limited and highly seasonal, and dairy farmers struggle to produce forage on their own farms to meet their cows’ nutritional needs, leading to high emissions intensity. As the impacts of climate change are increasingly felt by East African farmers, forage production challenges will be exacerbated by periods of drought and erratic, out-of-season rains.
 
With this in mind, investment in animal nutrition to increase access to nutrient-dense, climate-smart forages is a key lever to reduce emissions intensity in the dairy sector. A viable commercial market for climate-smart forages will both optimize dairy productivity and mitigate the environmental impact of the dairy sector – from seed to feed. The Nourishing Prosperity Alliance (NPA), a collaborative project led by Venture37, is piloting solutions for forage market development across East Africa that center climate-smart agriculture and aim to maximize co-benefits for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Collaborating with implementing partners Corteva Agriscience, Forage Genetics International, and the International Livestock Research Institute, this alliance aims to reach 120,000 smallholder producers in Kenya and 100,000 smallholder producers in Ethiopia. NPA partners with businesses in each step of the forage value chain to deliver training and market linkages to get the products and services that small-scale and early-stage commercial forage and dairy producers need to engage in the forage marketplace.
 

Step 1: Planting 

Planting locally adapted forage provides a myriad of benefits for climate adaptation and mitigation. For example, NPA partners with seed companies in Kenya and Ethiopia to promotes varieties of sorghum, lucerne, maize, and grasses that have been developed for East Africa’s diverse agroecological zones, with traits to better withstand drought, extreme weather, and disease resistance. Several of these varieties are perennial and provide additional co-benefits for biodiversity, soil carbon sequestration, and soil conservation. Rotations of diverse forage crops and integration of perennials also increase soil organic matter and nitrogen fixation for increased soil nutrients. NPA and partnered seed companies work with farmers to select the right forage varieties for their farm and to plan where and how to plant to enhance these benefits. Under NPA’s initial pilot in Kenya (2020 - 2023), there was a 38-percentage point increase in small-scale producers who grew improved forage, from 33 percent prior to participation to 71 percent after participation in NPA activities.
 

Step 2: Growing 

Targeted agronomic advice during the growing season gives farmers the knowledge they need for planting and input management to optimize forage production. NPA partners with local agricultural input suppliers and agronomic firms to increase access to and demand for soil testing and advisory services, which enables farmers to increase yields and soil health while promoting precision application of fertilizers. The NPA project also encourages farmers to intercrop forage with food crops, leguminous plants, and native species, which increases soil nutrients and supports natural pest and disease control and reduces the need for outside inputs. 
 

Step 3: Harvest and Conservation 

Harvesting forage at the right time is critical for getting the highest quality forage. NPA partners with agronomic firms to advise on harvesting as well as with agricultural machinery dealers so that farmers and dairy cooperatives can easily access tractors and other equipment for harvesting and conserving forages. After harvest, forage can be conserved by transforming it into hay or silage to use in the dry season. Silage-making involves fermenting chopped plant matter either in large bags or in a dug and covered pit, which maintains its quality and digestibility. Well-conserved hay or silage increases year-round availability of nutrient-dense feed, which reduces vulnerability to climate shocks and stresses and limits the use of costly commercial animal feed concentrates. Training conducted by NPA partners on proper hay and silage-making coupled with market access to needed equipment and supplies also helps farmers limit spoilage and reduce waste of the forage they’ve invested resources to grow.


ILRI team members help weigh forage sorghum in Machakos County, Kenya.

Step 4: Feeding 

Fresh or conserved forages can be integrated into cows’ diets to optimize productivity — and therefore reduce emissions intensity. Under NPA’s pilot in Kenya, 81 percent of smallholder farmers increased their milk production after receiving training on improved forage production and feeding; they increased the total liters of milk they produced annually by an average of 46 percent. When the NPA team met a farmer named Joyce in the Eldoret region of Kenya, she was milking ten cows who produced an average of six liters per cow per day, with operations so costly that she was considering selling off her cows. Working with NPA over one planting season to establish forage on her farm for her cows, Joyce’s milk production increased to 11 liters per cow per day. She has now set a goal to consistently feed quality forage to her cows to reliably produce 20 liters per cow per day. Increases in production like this lead to increased local food security and nutrition, as milk from smallholders is often consumed in the household, or it is sold in local markets, increasing incomes for small-scale producers, especially women. Under NPA’s pilot in Kenya, higher productivity also meant an average 26 percent reduction in emissions intensity across participating farmers, demonstrating the high potential of animal nutrition as a climate solution.
 
From the planting of forage to the production of milk, improved forages are a leading climate adaptation and mitigation solution for dairy in East Africa. The NPA project is generating learnings for private sector engagement to increase supply and demand of improved forages with a climate-smart approach. However, East African forage markets are in early stages of development and have a way to go to become self-sustaining. Investment in animal nutrition at scale will be essential for countries to meet climate commitments while enhancing rural livelihoods and boosting nutritional outcomes.