Enteric methane emissions from dairy systems in Kenya: A case study of Kenyan Rift Valley and Central Highlands regions
Kenya’s dairy sector contributes 12–14% of agricultural GDP but emits an estimated 12.3 Mt CO₂-eq annually, primarily from enteric methane. Reducing these emissions offers a significant mitigation opportunity. Improved feeding, especially through forages, can lower emission intensities while maintai...
| Autores principales: | , , , |
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| Formato: | Ponencia |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178627 |
| _version_ | 1855523114704699392 |
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| author | Mwema, Emmanuel Steward, Peter Gonzalez, Ricardo Notenbaert, An |
| author_browse | Gonzalez, Ricardo Mwema, Emmanuel Notenbaert, An Steward, Peter |
| author_facet | Mwema, Emmanuel Steward, Peter Gonzalez, Ricardo Notenbaert, An |
| author_sort | Mwema, Emmanuel |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Kenya’s dairy sector contributes 12–14% of agricultural GDP but emits an estimated 12.3 Mt CO₂-eq annually, primarily from enteric methane. Reducing these emissions offers a significant mitigation opportunity. Improved feeding, especially through forages, can lower emission intensities while maintaining productivity. This study evaluated the mitigation potential of improved forages promoted by Venture37’s private sector-led alliance model, the Nourishing Prosperity Alliance (NPA), across seven counties using data from 834 dairy farmers in 2024 and 2025. Enteric methane emissions were quantified using an activity-detailed IPCC Tier 2 method, focusing on emissions per animal, per farm, and per kilogram of fat- and protein-corrected milk (FPCM). Results indicate that enteric CH₄ emissions increased with herd size, though most farms emitted less than 5 tons of CH₄ annually. Emission intensity consistently declined with higher milk yields, improved feed digestibility, and greater adoption of improved forages and supplements. Across both 2024 and 2025, a small group of low-efficiency farms accounted for a disproportionate share of mitigation potential, with total achievable savings of ~6.5 tons and ~6.2 tons of CH₄, respectively, while most farms required only modest milk yield gains to reach the top 10 efficiency benchmark. Farms with higher use of improved forages were consistently among the lowest methane-intensity producers, confirming feed quality as the dominant and most scalable mitigation lever in smallholder dairy systems |
| format | Ponencia |
| id | CGSpace178627 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1786272025-12-10T02:05:40Z Enteric methane emissions from dairy systems in Kenya: A case study of Kenyan Rift Valley and Central Highlands regions Mwema, Emmanuel Steward, Peter Gonzalez, Ricardo Notenbaert, An evaluation livestock environmental impact assessment livestock feeding enteric methane Kenya’s dairy sector contributes 12–14% of agricultural GDP but emits an estimated 12.3 Mt CO₂-eq annually, primarily from enteric methane. Reducing these emissions offers a significant mitigation opportunity. Improved feeding, especially through forages, can lower emission intensities while maintaining productivity. This study evaluated the mitigation potential of improved forages promoted by Venture37’s private sector-led alliance model, the Nourishing Prosperity Alliance (NPA), across seven counties using data from 834 dairy farmers in 2024 and 2025. Enteric methane emissions were quantified using an activity-detailed IPCC Tier 2 method, focusing on emissions per animal, per farm, and per kilogram of fat- and protein-corrected milk (FPCM). Results indicate that enteric CH₄ emissions increased with herd size, though most farms emitted less than 5 tons of CH₄ annually. Emission intensity consistently declined with higher milk yields, improved feed digestibility, and greater adoption of improved forages and supplements. Across both 2024 and 2025, a small group of low-efficiency farms accounted for a disproportionate share of mitigation potential, with total achievable savings of ~6.5 tons and ~6.2 tons of CH₄, respectively, while most farms required only modest milk yield gains to reach the top 10 efficiency benchmark. Farms with higher use of improved forages were consistently among the lowest methane-intensity producers, confirming feed quality as the dominant and most scalable mitigation lever in smallholder dairy systems 2025-12-03 2025-12-09T05:39:07Z 2025-12-09T05:39:07Z Presentation https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178627 en Open Access application/pdf Mwema, E.; Steward, P.; Gonzalez, R.; Notenbaert, A. (2025) Enteric methane emissions from dairy systems in Kenya: A case study of Kenyan Rift Valley and Central Highlands regions. Presented for Preliminary Results to Venture 37 on 18 November 2025 in Nairobi (Kenya). 13 sl. |
| spellingShingle | evaluation livestock environmental impact assessment livestock feeding enteric methane Mwema, Emmanuel Steward, Peter Gonzalez, Ricardo Notenbaert, An Enteric methane emissions from dairy systems in Kenya: A case study of Kenyan Rift Valley and Central Highlands regions |
| title | Enteric methane emissions from dairy systems in Kenya: A case study of Kenyan Rift Valley and Central Highlands regions |
| title_full | Enteric methane emissions from dairy systems in Kenya: A case study of Kenyan Rift Valley and Central Highlands regions |
| title_fullStr | Enteric methane emissions from dairy systems in Kenya: A case study of Kenyan Rift Valley and Central Highlands regions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enteric methane emissions from dairy systems in Kenya: A case study of Kenyan Rift Valley and Central Highlands regions |
| title_short | Enteric methane emissions from dairy systems in Kenya: A case study of Kenyan Rift Valley and Central Highlands regions |
| title_sort | enteric methane emissions from dairy systems in kenya a case study of kenyan rift valley and central highlands regions |
| topic | evaluation livestock environmental impact assessment livestock feeding enteric methane |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178627 |
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