FAO SMart Agriculture Book

Eastern Africa Climate-Smart
Agriculture Scoping Study:

ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA
Cover image: ©FAO/Sarah Elliott
Eastern Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture Scoping Study:
ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA
Desmond Boi, Esther Njeru, Amos Amouh and Edward Kilawe
Artful Eyes Productions Ltd
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Addis Ababa, 2016
DISCLAIMER
Recommended citation:
FAO, 2016.
Eastern Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture Scoping Study: Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.
By Njeru, E., Grey, S. and Kilawe, E.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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CONTENTS
preface v
Acknowledgements vi
Acronyms vii
Executive Summary xi
1

Introduction 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Objective 2
1.3 Methodology and Approach 2
1.4 Scope of the Study 2
2
The Eastern African Context 3
3
What is Climate-Smart Agriculture? 6
4
COUNTRY STUDY 1: ETHIOPIA 11
4.1 Overview of the Agriculture Sector in Ethiopia 11
4.2 CSA Technologies and Practices: Adoption and Implementation 13
4.3 CSA Stakeholders, Programmes and Projects in Ethiopia 16
4.3.1 Government Programmes 16
4.3.2 Development Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations 20
4.3.3 Research and Academic Institutions 23
4.3.4 Private Sector 24
4.4 Key Policies Relevant to CSA in Ethiopia 25
4.5 Gender Issues for CSA in Ethiopia 28
4.6 Constraints to CSA Promotion and Adoption in Ethiopia 29
4.7 Opportunities for CSA Promotion in Ethiopia 29
5
COUNTRY STUDY 2: KENYA 31
5.1 Overview of the Agriculture Sector in Kenya 31
5.3 CSA Stakeholders, Programmes and Projects in Kenya 36
5.4 Key Policies and Institutions Relevant to CSA in Kenya 45
5.5 Gender Issues for CSA in Kenya 50
5.6 Constraints to CSA Adoption in Kenya 52
5.7 Opportunities for CSA Promotion in Kenya 53
ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | iii

6
COUNTRY STUDY 3: UGANDA 55
6.1 Overview of the Agriculture Sector in Uganda 55
6.3 CSA Stakeholders, Programmes and Projects in Uganda 58
6.4 Key Policies and Institutions Relevant to CSA in Uganda 67
6.5 Gender Issues for CSA in Uganda 72
6.6 Constraints to CSA Adoption in Uganda 73
6.7 Opportunities for CSA Adoption in Uganda 74
7
SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW 75
7.1 Summary of Sub-regional Findings 75
7.2 Challenges to CSA Adoption and Promotion in Eastern Africa 79
7.3 Opportunities for CSA Promotion in Eastern Africa 81
7.4 Recommendations 82
References 85
Annexure 1: Summary of Hudumakwa Mkulima (HKM) 25 Project in Kenya 87
Annexure 2: Selected Case Studies of Integrated Watershed Management in Uganda 88
Annexure 3: Faith-Based CSA-Related Activities by UFNEA Uganda 89
Annexure 4: Conservation Agriculture Training Conducted by Makobu Enterprises
in Ethiopia (2012 – 2014) 93
List of Figures
Figure 1: Steps in undertaking the study 2
Figure 2: Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalent) in seven
Eastern African countries 4
Figure 3: Importance of smallholder farming systems in Ethiopia 12
Figure 4: GHG emissions in Ethiopian agriculture in 2012 (FAOSTAT, 2015) 13
Figure 5: GHG emissions in Kenyan agriculture in 2012 (FAOSTAT, 2015) 32
Figure 6: GHG emissions in Ugandan agriculture in 2012 (FAOSTAT 2015) 56
List of tables
Table 1: Summary of key policies relevant to CSA in Ethiopia 27
Table 2: Summary of the key CSA-related policies in Kenya 49
Table 3: Summary of the key CSA-related policies in Uganda 71
Table 4: Summary of the key CSA-related policies in Eastern Africa 76
Table 5: CSA-Related Programmes, Policies and Strategies in Eastern Africa 76
Table 6: CSA Promotion Methods in the Sub-Region 78
Table 7: Training in Farming God’s Way (FGW), Islamic Farming (IF) and
conservation agriculture (CA) 90
List of Boxes
Box 1: Conservation agriculture principles, practices and technologies in Ethiopia 15
Box 2: FAO MICCA Project in Kenya 43
Box 3: Farmer field schools (FFS) in climate-smart agriculture 50
Box 4: Women’s success story from the FAO MICCA project in Kaptumo, Kenya 51
Box 5: Faith-based climate-smart agriculture activities by UFNEA Uganda 62
Box 6: Evaluating climate-smartness of national agricultural investment plans 69
iv | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

PREFACE
One of the main challenges to achieving food security in Eastern Africa has been related to unfavourable weather
and climate conditions, including the occurrence of droughts and floods as well as increasingly unreliable rainfall
and gradually increasing temperatures.
Climate-smart agriculture, as defined and presented by FAO at the Hague Conference on Agriculture, Food Security
and Climate Change in 2010, contributes to the achievement of sustainable development goals. It integrates the three
dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) by jointly addressing food security
and climate challenges. CSA is composed of three main pillars – sustainably increasing agricultural productivity
and incomes; adapting and building resilience to climate change; and reducing and/or removing greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions, where possible.
This study was commissioned by the FAO Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa under the auspices of the project
“FAO Technical Support to the COMESA-EAC-SADC Programme on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation
in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSRO/RAF/307/COM)”. The study had the major objective of identifying and
documenting CSA initiatives, technologies, practices and stakeholders in the Eastern African Sub-region with a special
focus on Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, so as to produce a report that would enable stakeholders to understand the
opportunities and constraints associated with adopting particular CSA technologies and practices, the scale of CSA
adoption and the drivers and bottlenecks to CSA adoption in the sub-region as stipulated in the terms of reference.
There is opportunity to use this information to inform agricultural related policies, programmes and projects in the
sub-region with the aim of sustainably increasing agricultural production and productivity; building resilience to
climate-related hazards; and contributing to climate change mitigation.
ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | v

Acknowledgements
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) acknowledges the support of the Common
Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) through the project “FAO Technical Support to the COMESA-
EAC-SADC Programme on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in the Eastern and Southern African Region
(OSRO/RAF/307/COM)”, which has enabled this study and is providing support to other activities promoting the
scale up and scale out of conservation agriculture and other climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices in Eastern
and Southern Africa.
This report has been prepared by Esther Njeru, working as an independent consultant for FAO in conjunction with
Edward Kilawe and Sebastian Grey of the FAO Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa (FAOSFE). Acknowledgement
is given to Amare Mengiste of FAO Ethiopia (FAOET), Wilson Ronno and Barrack Okoba of FAO Kenya (FAOKE)
and Martin Ameu of FAO Uganda (FAOUG), the FAO national focal persons on CSA who assisted in organizing
various aspects of the study in their respective countries.
The FAO also expresses its gratitude and appreciation to all the respondents in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda for their
invaluable contributions towards the realization of this study.
The authors express their gratitude to Mitzi du Plessis for managing the editing, design and layout of the publication
in collaboration with graphic designer Elke Momberg.
©FAO
vi | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

Abbre viations/acronyms
ACT African Conservation Tillage Network

AEATRI Agricultural Engineering and Appropriate Technology Research Institute
AGP Agriculture Growth Project
AGRA Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
ASALs Arid and Semi-Arid Lands
ASARECA Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa
ATA Agricultural Transformation Agency
AU African Union
CA conservation agriculture
CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme
CAWT Conservation Agriculture with Trees
CBO community-based organization
CCAFS CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security
CCU Climate Change Unit
CDM Clean Development Mechanisms
CGIAR Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research
CIMMYT International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre
CIAT International Center for Tropical Agriculture
COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
CRGE Climate Resilient Green Economy
CSA climate-smart agriculture
DRSRS Department of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing
EAC East African Community
EAFF East African Farmers Federation
EIAR Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research
ESA Eastern and Southern Africa
EU European Union
FANRPAN Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FFSs Farmer Field Schools
FH Food for the Hungry
FSP Food Security Program
GHG greenhouse gas
ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | vii

GIZ German Society for International Cooperation
GoE Government of Ethiopia
GoK Government of Kenya
HABP Household Asset Building Program
icipe International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology
ICRAF World Agro-forestry Centre
ICRC International Committee for the Red Cross
ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
IDRC International Development Research Consortium
IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development
IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute
IGAD Inter-Governmental Authority on Development
IITA International Institute for Tropical Agriculture
ILRI International Livestock Research Institute
ISFM Integrated Soil Fertility Management
KACCAL Kenya Adaptation to Climate Change in Arid Lands
KALRO Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization
KARI Kenya Agricultural Research Institute
KEFRI Kenya Forestry Research Institute
KENAFF Kenya National Farmers Federation
KES Kenya Shillings
KMD Kenya Meteorological Department
MAAIF Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries
MALF Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
MENR Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
MERET Managing Environmental Resources to Enable Transitions to More Sustainable Livelihoods
MTP Medium Term Plan
MTIP Medium Term Investment Plan
MUCCRI Makerere University Centre for Climate Change Research and Innovations
NAAIAP National Accelerated Agricultural Input Access Programme
NAIPs National Agriculture Investment Plans
NAMAs Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions
viii | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

NAPA National Adaptation Programs of Action
NAPs National Adaptation Plans
NARO National Agriculture Research Organization
NARS National Agriculture Research Station
NCCAP National Climate Change Action Plan
NCCRS National Climate Change Response Strategy
NEPAD New Partnership for Africa's Development
NAFSIPs National Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plans
NGO non-governmental organization
PACJA Pan African Climate Justice Alliance
PIF Policy and Investment Framework
PSNP Productive Safety Net Program
RECs Regional Economic Communities
REDD+ Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
SADC Southern African Development Community
SG2000 Sasakawa Global 2000
SIDA Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
SLM sustainable land management
SLMP Sustainable Land Management Program
SRA Strategy for Revitalising Agriculture
UFNEA Uganda Faiths Network on Environmental Action
UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
WB World Bank
WFP United Nations World Food Program
WV World Vision
ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | ix

©FAO/Giulio Napolitano
©FAO/Ny You
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This study was commissioned under the auspices of The farming systems in the three countries covered by
the project “FAO Technical Support to the COMESA- the study are found to be similar, with the rain-fed mixed
EAC-SADC Programme on Climate Change Adaptation cropping system by small-scale farmers taking the lead.
and Mitigation in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSRO/ In terms of CSA practices, the study found that CSA is
RAF/307/COM)”. The study had the major objective of not one practice or even any set of practices, but rather
identifying and documenting climate-smart agriculture a broad approach to addressing climate change while
(CSA) initiatives, technologies, practices and stakeholders at the same time achieving national food security and
in the Eastern African Sub-region with a special focus agricultural development goals.
on Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, so as to produce a
report that would enable stakeholders to understand the
opportunities and constraints associated with adopting “Climate-smart agriculture (CSA)
particular CSA technologies and practices, the scale of
integrates the three dimensions of
CSA adoption and the drivers and bottlenecks to CSA
adoption in the sub-region as stipulated in the terms of
sustainable development (economic, social
reference. and environmental) by jointly addressing
food security and climate challenges.”
Climate-smart agriculture, as defined and presented
by FAO at the Hague Conference on Agriculture, Food
Security and Climate Change in 2010, contributes to However, the study found that there are proven practical
the achievement of sustainable development goals. techniques and practices that can be called “climate-
It integrates the three dimensions of sustainable smart” across the three countries. Such practices include
development (economic, social and environmental) by mulching, intercropping, minimum/reduced/zero tillage,
jointly addressing food security and climate challenges. crop rotation, integrated crop and livestock management,
CSA is composed of three main pillars – sustainably agroforestry, improved grazing and improved water
increasing agricultural productivity and incomes; adapting management, together with innovative practices such as
and building resilience to climate change; and reducing better weather forecasting, use of drought- and flood-
and/or removing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, tolerant crops, and crop and livestock insurance.
where possible.
ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | xi

The study moreover found that many of the practices case of MUCCRI in Kampala where climate change
that sequester carbon are also beneficial for adaptation. scholarships targeting the youth are being offered.
For example, the use of cover crops and the addition of
compost and manure to soils result in healthier soils Since CSA is not a new concept, benchmarking is
and lead to increased and more stable production and one of the key recommendations highlighted by most
productivity while at the same time supporting improved stakeholders. This could take the form of establishing
soil carbon sequestration. These CSA practices are a detailed inventory of contextualized CSA practices
having a widespread impact on food security, are helping in the sub-region. This can be further consolidated
farmers to adapt to climate change and are contributing through exchange visits to places where CSA practices
to climate change mitigation. These practices show the and technologies have been successful within the country,
potential of agriculture to adapt to a changing climate, or to degraded places for farmers to witness the negative
to be more resilient and protect farmers against future effects of climate change. Coordination emerged as a
changes in weather patterns, pests and diseases, and to major issue hindering rapid adoption of CSA. A positive
slow the rate of climate change. note is that national CSA task forces are in place in all
three countries to enhance coordinated efforts in CSA
The study found that while a number of CSA-related as well as to promote sustainability of existing CSA
programmes and projects are ongoing and a number of programmes and projects.
different CSA practices are being used in various parts
of these countries, these CSA systems are not widely
spread across the sub-region, partly because of limited
financial resources, capacity, knowledge and policy
support. However, various CSA interventions have
been implemented and continue to be implemented,
with variable success, using different approaches by
individual farmers as well as national, regional and
international organizations in the Eastern Africa sub-
region. Various stakeholders have been involved in the
promotion of CSA initiatives across the three countries,
including government departments, the community-
based organizations (CBOs), the private sector, research
institutions and lead farmers. Despite the fact that there
is no particular CSA guiding policy, the Climate Resilient
Green Economy (CRGE) Strategy in Ethiopia, the National
Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) of Kenya and
the Agriculture Sector Development Strategy (ASDS)
of Uganda are key documents leveraging support for
CSA at national level, both technically and financially.
The study also showed that various models and approaches

have been used to promote CSA in the Eastern Africa
sub-region. The study examined some gender and social
issues, especially with regard to planting season, where it
was found that men plough the land while women plant/
sow the seeds. Weeding activities were initially women’s
roles but with the use of herbicides for weed control,
women are set free to engage in other family chores.
There are numerous opportunities to promote CSA in

the Eastern African sub-region. This entails the inclusion
©FAO/Ny You
of CSA in new agriculture-related policies like the soil

fertility management policy under preparation in Kenya
and inclusion into the university curriculum like in the
xii | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

©FAO/Ami Vitale
INTRODUC TION
1
1.1 Background
Under the five-year COMESA-EAC-SADC Programme (v) the development of suitable dissemination materials
on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in the to enhance adoption of climate-resilient practices
Eastern and Southern Africa Region, FAO was identified on a larger scale;
as an implementing partner to assist in mobilizing (vi) the integration of HIV, gender and nutrition in
additional resources for investment in climate-smart project activities; and
agriculture (CSA); develop national and regional policies (vii) the development of a common robust regional CSA
and institutions supporting the upscaling of CSA; and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system.
provide technical support to stakeholders for CSA field
implementation.
“FAO was identified
FAO activity areas within the project include:
as an implementing partner to
(i) the formulation of specific investment programmes
assist in mobilizing additional
on CSA in the framework of the Comprehensive
Africa Agriculture Development Programme resources for investment in
(CAADP) National Agricultural Investment Plans; climate-smart agriculture.”
(ii) the establishment and/or expansion of CSA
coordination and promotion of platforms in Eastern
and Southern African (ESA) member states; This study was conducted under the auspices of activity
(iii) the in situ assessment of CSA models at country area (iv), in order to give an in-depth understanding of
level and scaling up of best practices; the various CSA practices, initiatives and interventions
(iv) conducting a regional synthesis of the status of CSA in Eastern Africa, with a special focus on three countries
and sharing among partners; – Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.
ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | 1

1.2 Objective gathering – a structured questionnaire was designed
and used to ensure that all relevant information
The study had the major objective of identifying and was captured from the various stakeholders. The
documenting climate-smart agriculture initiatives, questionnaire was either filled out directly by the
technologies, practices and stakeholders in the Eastern respondent or filled in by the interviewer during
Africa Sub-region with a special focus on Ethiopia, discussions with the respective stakeholders.
Kenya and Uganda, so as to produce a report that would • In-depth key informant interviews (KIIs) with key
enable stakeholders to understand the opportunities and stakeholders in the three countries – KIIs were
constraints associated with adopting particular CSA conducted with officials and experts from relevant
technologies and practices, the scale of CSA adoption government ministries and departments as well as
and the drivers and bottlenecks to CSA adoption in the from various international, national, community-
sub-region as stipulated in the terms of reference. based, civil society and private sector organizations.
The interviews were structured according to a
1.3 Methodology and Approach discussion guide based on the terms of reference for
the report. The KIIs helped with identification of the
The four main steps in undertaking this study were roles and responsibilities of organizations at national,
planning, data collection, data analysis and report writing, regional and local levels as well as with identification
as shown in Figure 2. Study methodology primarily of existing constraints and opportunities for CSA
involved the collection of primary and secondary data promotion and upscaling.
on climate-smart agriculture from various sources. The
study involved the following: 1.4 Scope of the Study
• Literature review of available local and international
literature on climate-smart agriculture – this required The study targeted government departments, private
a desk review and gathering of information from sector institutions, NGOs, development partners and
available sources which included reports and civil society organizations involved in current and past
documents on CSA in the sub-region, CSA meeting climate-smart agriculture initiatives in the Eastern Africa
and conference proceedings, annual progress reports sub-region, with a special focus on Ethiopia, Kenya and
for some CSA projects, organizational databases Uganda. The study aimed to look at the key climate-
and the Internet. This moreover involved a review smart agriculture practices for the sub-region with
of current policy documents, guidelines, strategies a focus on documentation of the key practices and
and manuals related to CSA. These documents were technologies, key stakeholders, relevant government
reviewed over the entire period of the study and key policies and programmes, some ongoing projects and
issues were identified for further questioning and opportunities, challenges and recommendations for
consideration. Information from the desk review was upscaling of CSA. The study was not meant to be a
also used to inform the design of the data collection comprehensive documentation of all of the above, but
tool (structured questionnaire). rather to give an idea of the current status of climate-
• Use of a structured questionnaire for information smart agriculture in the three target countries.
Development of a work plan, study methodology and tool (in this case a structured
PLANNING questionnaire). Development of itineraries with FAO’s country and sub-regional
office staff.
Face-to-face interviews with key stakeholders guided by the study toll; meeting key
DATA CSA focal persons in the countries; i.e. government ministries, the private sector,
COLLECTION NGOs and civil society organizations. Review of other available CSA documents
within the Eastern Africa sub-region.
Consolidation of a variety of information on technologies, practices, policies and

DATA ANALYSIS
stakeholders involved in the promotion of CSA.
REPORT WRITING Post-study draft submitted for comments before preparation of final report.
Figure 1: Steps in undertaking the study
2 | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

The Eastern African Context

2
At the global level, the world would need to raise contribution to global emissions (Smith et al., 2007).
agricultural production by 70 percent by 2050 in order Even with herculean mitigation efforts within land-use
to feed the projected world population of nine billion sectors and elsewhere, climate change will continue to
(Miller et al., 2010). At the same time, climate change is have a significant impact on agricultural production
expected to have a negative impact on at least 22 percent for decades to come, and agricultural adaptation efforts
of the cultivated area for the world’s most important crops, would need to be scaled up significantly.
and on as much as 56 percent of all crops in sub-Saharan
Africa by 2050 (Campbell et al., 2011). In Africa, agriculture constitutes the mainstay of most
national economies, is frequently the largest contributor
In addition to the necessity of building resilience to to the gross domestic product (GDP) and is also a main
climate change impacts in agriculture, it is recognized source of rural employment, hence it is essential for pro-
that more than 30 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas poor economic growth in most African countries. With
emissions come from land-use activities – 17 percent the region’s population projected to double by 2050 to
from forest conversion and 14 percent from agricultural over two billion people, sustainably improving agricultural
production (soil erosion and cultivation, livestock and productivity is pivotal to addressing the intertwined
manure, and rice cultivation being some of the main challenges of food security, poverty eradication and
sources) (Smith et al., 2007). Moreover, land-based economic development in the context of a changing
carbon sequestration efforts, through photosynthesis and climate.
soil carbon sequestration, currently offer a substantial
opportunity for large-scale removal of greenhouse gases In Eastern Africa, some positive strides have been made
from the atmosphere. Agricultural soil carbon accounts towards ending hunger and malnutrition. Even though
for 89 percent of this sequestration potential, representing progress has been made towards meeting the MDG target
an estimated potential of between 5.5-6 gigatons of CO2e of halving the proportion of people suffering from hunger,
per year, which roughly equals agriculture’s total annual the sub-region remains in a precarious food security

situation having experienced a 20 percent increase in exacerbated by climate change, which will have significant
the number of hungry people in the period from 1992 impacts on the various dimensions and determinants of
to present. Eastern Africa still has the greatest number food security.
of undernourished people on the African continent.
While recognizing the vulnerability of agriculture to
One of the main challenges to achieving food security in climate change, and the fact that the agriculture and
the sub-region has been related to unfavourable weather land-use sectors are the main contributors to greenhouse
and climate conditions, including the occurrence of gas emissions in Eastern Africa, agriculture and land-
droughts and floods as well as increasingly unreliable use are the sectors with the greatest potential to reduce
rainfall and gradually increasing temperatures. Eastern emissions and support countries to develop their
Africa is among the regions in the world most affected economies along low emission pathways through more
by climate change and is also among the most vulnerable efficient agricultural production systems, contributing to
regions. In the sub-region approximately 75.5 million carbon sequestration and directly reducing agricultural
people are economically involved in agriculture, either in greenhouse gas emissions. Figure 2 below indicates the
full-time employment or as a main household livelihood. major GHG emission sources in agriculture in seven
Additionally, approximately 95 percent of the food in Eastern African countries and highlights those areas with
the sub-region is grown under rain-fed agriculture and the greatest opportunities for climate change mitigation
is highly vulnerable to adverse weather conditions such in the sector.
as droughts, dry spells and uneven or erratic rainfall.
The agriculture sector in Africa is being called on to Through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture
increase food production to meet the demand of a Development Programme (CAADP) under the New
growing population.4 This formidable challenge is further Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) of the
Greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalent) in seven Eastern African countries

(Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda)
Burning – Savannah
22%
Burning – Crop residues 0%
Crop residues 1%
44% Enteric fermentation
26%
Manure left on pasture
Manure applied to soils 4% 2% Manure management

Synthetic fertilizers 1% 0% Rice cultivation
Figure 2: Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalent) in seven Eastern African countries
4 Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance, June 2014

African Union (AU), a number of countries prepared
National Agricultural Investment Plans (NAIPs) to In the next 20 years, increasing the productivity
provide opportunities to integrate the scaling-up of and incomes from smallholder crop, livestock,
practices that potentially benefit development, food fishery and forestry production systems will
security and climate change adaptation and mitigation into be key to achieving global food security. Most
an existing continental and country-owned sustainable of the world’s poor are directly or indirectly
agriculture development framework. African policy- dependent on agriculture, and experience
makers are being challenged to ensure that agriculture has shown that growth in agriculture is often
the most effective and equitable strategy
contributes to addressing food security, development and
for reducing poverty and increasing food
climate change (adaptation and mitigation). Approaches
security. Climate change multiplies the
that seek to maximize the benefits and minimize the challenges of achieving the needed growth
trade-offs across these multiple objectives (which are and improvements in agricultural systems, and
closely linked within the agriculture sector) require its effects are already being felt. Climate-Smart
more integrated and coordinated planning, policies Agriculture (CSA) is an approach to dealing with
and institutional arrangements, as well as financing these interlinked challenges in a holistic and
and investment. Such approaches and their related effective manner.
enabling requirements can be referred to as climate-
smart agriculture (CSA),5 a term that emerged in 2010 to Source: Climate-Smart Agriculture:
describe agricultural systems designed to simultaneously What is it? Why is it needed?
improve food security and rural livelihoods and support http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4226e.pdf
climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts (FAO,
2010; World Bank, 2010).
©FAO/Ny You
5 Identifying opportunities for climate-smart agriculture investments in Africa, FAO Rome, April, 2012. p 9

©FAO/Olivier Asselin
What is Climate-Smart Agriculture?
3
Climate-smart agriculture is an approach to help guide • develop opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas
actions to transform and reorient agricultural systems emissions measured against expected trends.
to support development and food security effectively
and sustainably under a changing climate. “Agriculture”
is taken to cover crops, livestock production, fisheries “Climate-smart agriculture is an approach
and forests. Climate-smart agriculture is not a new
to help guide actions to transform and
production system, but a means of identifying which
production systems and enabling institutions are best
reorient agricultural systems to support
suited to respond to the challenges of climate change development and food security effectively
for specific locations, in order to maintain and enhance and sustainably under a changing climate.”
the capacity of agriculture to support food security in a
sustainable way.
The concept of climate-smart agriculture emerged to
The CSA concept was first launched by FAO in 2010 in describe agricultural systems that provide agricultural
a background paper prepared for the Hague Conference benefits as well as climate change adaptation and
on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FAO, mitigation benefits, and improved watershed and
”Climate-Smart” Agriculture Policies, Practices and ecosystem management (FAO, 2010). While newly
Financing for Food Security, Adaptation and Mitigation, framed as a concept for the climate change and agricultural
2010), in the context of national food security and development communities, climate-smart agriculture can
development goals, to address three main objectives include many of the field- and farm-based sustainable
(Climate-Smart Agriculture Sourcebook, 2013), namely to: agricultural land management approaches already in the
• sustainably increase food security by increasing literature and in wide use, such as conservation tillage,
agricultural productivity and incomes; agroforestry and residue management, among others.
• build resilience and adapt to climate change; and

Sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes
Around 75 percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas and agriculture is their most important source
of income. Experience has shown that growth in the agricultural sector is highly effective in reducing
poverty and increasing food security in countries with a high percentage of the population dependent
on agriculture (World Bank, World Development Report, 2008).
Increasing productivity as well as reducing costs through increased resource-use efficiency are
important means of attaining agricultural growth. “Yield gaps” indicating the difference between the
yields farmers obtain on farms and the technically feasible maximum yield, are quite substantial for
smallholder farmers in developing countries (FAO, The State of Food and Agriculture, 2014).
Similarly, livestock productivity is often much lower than it could be. Reducing these gaps by enhancing
the productivity of agro-ecosystems and increasing the efficiency of soil, water, fertilizer, livestock feed
and other agricultural inputs, offers higher returns to agricultural producers, reducing poverty and
increasing food availability and access. These same measures can often result in lower greenhouse gas
emissions compared with past trends.
Source: Climate-Smart Agriculture: What is it? Why is it needed? (http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4226e.pdf)
Climate-smart agriculture thus includes proven practical techniques such as mulching, intercropping, conservation
agriculture, crop rotation, integrated crop-livestock management, agroforestry, improved grazing and improved
water management.6 It includes innovative practices such as better weather forecasting, early-warning systems and
risk insurance. It is about getting existing technologies off the shelf and into the hands of farmers and developing
new technologies such as drought- or flood-tolerant crops to meet the demands of the changing climate. As the links
between climate change adaptation and mitigation and agriculture have become better understood, policy efforts to
support agricultural adaptation and mitigation have intensified.
©FAO/AU/Yohannes Zirotti
6 Climate-smart Agriculture Sourcebook, FAO 2013

Building resilience to climate change
According to the recently released fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), the effects of climate change on crop and food production are already evident in several
regions of the world, with negative effects more common than positive ones, and developing countries
highly vulnerable to further negative impacts from climate change on agriculture (IPCC Summary for
Policymakers, IPCC Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and
Sectoral Aspects, eds Field, C. B. et al. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2014).
In the medium and long term, average and seasonal maximum temperatures are projected to continue
rising, leading to higher average rainfall. These effects are not evenly distributed, with globally wet
regions and seasons getting wetter and dry regions and seasons getting drier (Porter, J. R. et al. in
Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects, eds
Field, C. B. et al. 485–533. IPCC, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2014).
There is already an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme events, such as drought, heavy
rainfall and subsequent flooding and high maximum temperatures. The increased exposure to these
climate risks, already being experienced in many parts of the world, poses a significant threat to the
potential for increasing food security and reducing poverty amongst low-income, agriculture-dependent
populations. It is possible to reduce and even avoid these negative impacts of climate change – but it
requires formulating and implementing effective adaptation strategies. Given the site-specific effects
of climate change, together with the wide variation in agro-ecologies and farming, livestock and fishery
systems, the most effective adaption strategies will vary even within countries.
A range of potential adaptation measures have already been identified which can provide a good
starting point for developing effective adaptation strategies for any particular site. These include
enhancing the resilience of agro-ecosystems by increasing ecosystem services through the use of
agro-ecology principles and landscape approaches. Reducing risk exposure through diversification of
production or incomes, and building input supply systems and extension services that support efficient
and timely use of inputs, including stress-tolerant crop varieties, livestock breeds and fish and forestry
species are also examples of adaptation measures that can increase resilience.
In addition, many others within the scientific community are engaged in the discourse on agricultural practices for
climate change mitigation and adaptation, but without using the climate-smart terminology (Smith et al., 2007). One
of the key pillars of the climate-smart framework as introduced by FAO in 2010 is “adopting an ecosystem approach,
working at landscape scale and ensuring inter-sectoral coordination and cooperation”. Therefore, in addition to
appropriate on-farm practices, climate-smart agriculture requires investment across landscapes – climate-smart
landscapes – to maintain healthy watersheds and ecosystem services to support adaptation, achieve net mitigation
across all land uses, and supply the full range of agricultural products. A climate-smart landscape approach includes
a spatial understanding of land uses and their interactions as well as a process for coordinating the institutional
diversity of stakeholders (Scherr, Shames and Friedman, 2012).
Investing in climate-smart agriculture at a landscape scale will have a large price tag. For example, in order to achieve
food security for a growing population, an estimated net US$83 billion a year will be required in developing countries
and US$11 billion in sub-Saharan Africa alone (Miller et al., 2010), while it is estimated that agricultural adaptation
costs for sub-Saharan Africa, the Near East and North Africa will need to be around US$3 billion per year (Branca et
al., 2012). Climate mitigation costs through better land and water management in Africa are estimated to be between
US$2.6 – 5.3 billion per year until 2030, with an additional US$8.1 – $16.2 billion per year to avoid 75 percent of
total deforestation on the continent.7
7 Coordinating Finance for Climate-Smart Agriculture – Seth Shames, Rachel Friedman and Tanja Havemann, August 2012

Developing opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared with expected trends
Agriculture, including land-use change, is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for
around a quarter of total anthropogenic GHG emissions. Agriculture contributes to emissions mainly
through crop and livestock management, as well as through its role as a major driver of deforestation
and peatland degradation. Non-CO2 emissions from agriculture are projected to increase due to
expected agricultural growth under business-as-usual growth strategies. There is more than one way
agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced. Reducing emission intensity (e.g. the CO2eq/
unit product) through sustainable intensification is one key strategy for agricultural mitigation (Smith, P.
et al. in Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change Ch. 11. IPCC, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2014).
The process involves implementation of new practices that enhance the efficiency of input use so that
the increase in agricultural output is greater than the increase in emissions (Smith, P. et al. in Climate
Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change Ch. 11. IPCC, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2014).
Another important emissions reduction pathway is through increasing the carbon-sequestration

capacity of agriculture. Plants and soils have the capacity to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and
store it in their biomass – this is the process of carbon sequestration. Increasing tree cover in crop
and livestock systems (e.g. through agroforestry) and reducing soil disturbance (e.g. through reduced
tillage) are two means of sequestering carbon in agricultural systems. However, this form of emissions
reduction may not be permanent – if the trees are cut or the soil plowed, the stored CO2 is released.
Despite these challenges, increasing carbon sequestration represents a huge potential source of
mitigation, especially since the agricultural practices that generate sequestration are also important for
adaptation and food security.
To support CSA, policy and financing systems will need

to adapt so that these multiple objectives – adaptation
and mitigation as well as rural development, food
security and ecosystem services – can be achieved
simultaneously. Countries are beginning to recognize
this reality, as agriculture is prominently represented in
National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs)
and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) as well as
beginning to become more prominent in Nationally
Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs). However,
national policies throughout the world still largely separate
climate and agriculture. Therefore, CSA addresses the
challenges of building synergies among climate change
mitigation, adaptation and food security which are
closely related within agriculture, and minimizing their
potential negative trade-offs. CSA seeks to enhance
the capacity of the agriculture sector to support food
security in a sustainable manner, incorporating the
need for adaptation and the potential for mitigation
into development strategies. The specific conditions,
circumstances and capacities within countries will define
opportunities and barriers to implementation, and hence
policy choices (FAO, 2011). CSA builds on existing
efforts to achieve sustainable agriculture intensification
©FAO/Ny You
to achieve sustainable productivity increases, thereby

supporting the achievement of national food security
and sustainable development goals.

Lastly, there is no blueprint for CSA and ultimately the
Some examples of climate-smart agriculture specific contexts of countries and communities would
production systems include: need to shape how it is implemented. CSA production
technologies are therefore aimed at maximizing food
• Soil and nutrient management – practices security benefits and, at the same time, delivering
that increase organic nutrient inputs and significant climate change mitigation and adaptation
retention and reduce the need for synthetic
co-benefits (Branca et al., 2011). However, care must be
fertilizers;
taken when formulating policies in support of CSA to
• Water harvesting and use – pools, dams
and retaining ridges to harvest water and avoid compromising policy efficiency. For developing
irrigation systems to use it efficiently; countries like Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, which are
• Agroforestry – using trees and shrubs in highly dependent on agriculture and with a large share
crop and livestock production and land of food-insecure people in the agriculture sector, the
management systems; main objective of CSA is to improve food security,
• Conservation agriculture – incorporating incorporating adaptation and mitigation as required to
practices such as minimum tillage, direct meet this objective.
seeding, mulching and crop rotation;
• Livestock production efficiency and resilience
– improvements in animal husbandry and
application of contextually appropriate “CSA production technologies are aimed
practices in nutrition, reproduction and at maximizing food security benefits
health control. and, at the same time, delivering
significant climate change mitigation
Source: Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance
and adaptation co-benefits.”
(http://africacsa.org)
©FAO/Giuliano Cecchi

Country Study 1: E thiopia

4
4.1 Overview of the Agriculture Sector in Ethiopia The farming systems in Ethiopia can be classified into
five major categories – the highland mixed farming
Ethiopia depends greatly on the agriculture sector, system, the lowland mixed agriculture, the pastoral
which contributes approximately 42 percent of national system, shifting cultivation and commercial agriculture
GDP, while 80 percent of the country’s population (Befekadu and Berhanu, 2000). Over 95 percent of the
depend on the sector for their livelihoods. Chronic food annual gross total agricultural output of the country is
insecurity affects 10 percent of the population and even said to be generated from smallholder farmers with an
in average rainfall years these households cannot meet average farm size ranging from 0.5 to 2 hectares.
their food needs and must rely partly on food assistance.
Overall, the agriculture sector is highly vulnerable to the
impacts of climate change. Droughts periodically reverse “Ethiopia depends greatly on the
agricultural sector performance gains, with devastating
agriculture sector, which contributes
effects on household food security and poverty levels.
approximately 42 percent of national
Vulnerability to droughts is greatest in the pastoral areas
of the lowlands and the densely populated, food-insecure GDP, while 80 percent of the country’s
districts of the highlands. Drought-induced famines are population depend on the sector for
further exacerbated by limited coping mechanisms and their livelihoods.”
inadequate contingency planning for drought mitigation
and the threat of climate change8.
8 Identifying opportunities for climate-smart agriculture investments in Africa

Farming system Smallholder agriculture Commercial agriculture
Highland mixed agriculture 95% of the annual gross total

agricultural output of the
Lowland mixed agriculture country
Commercial farms contribute
to only 5% of gross total
Pastoral and agropastoral agricultural output
farming Average farm size ranging
from 0.5-2 hectares
Shifting cultivation
Figure 3: Importance of smallholder farming systems in Ethiopia
The existence of diverse agro-ecological conditions enables by fuelwood consumption at 46 percent of the forestry-
Ethiopia to grow a large variety of crops which include related emissions. Figure 4 indicates the major GHG
cereals like teff, wheat, maize and barley; pulses like horse emissions sources within the agriculture sector for
bean, field peas, lentils, chickpeas and haricot beans; oil Ethiopia9. The largest proportion of emissions result
seeds like sesame, linseed, Niger seed and rapeseed; and from enteric fermentation followed by manure left on
different types of fruits and vegetables (Central Statistical pasture, both of which are related to livestock production.
Agency of Ethiopia, 2012). Even though the country is
known to produce various types of crops, food insecurity
is still a major challenge.
Ethiopia has the largest livestock population in Africa and

the tenth largest in the world. Livestock is an integral part
of the farming systems in the country. It is the source of
many social and economic values such as food, draught
power, fuel, cash income, security and investment in the
highland, lowland and pastoral farming areas. As in the
case of crops, the sector makes a significant contribution
to GDP and is also a major source of foreign currency.
The government of Ethiopia has given top priority to the
agricultural sector and has taken a number of steps to
increase productivity. However, the agricultural sector
is also characterized by low productivity and low value
addition. Overall, the high dependence of the country
on agriculture, which is sensitive to weather variability
and climate change, is a cause for concern.
Ethiopia’s annual GHG emissions were estimated at 150

Mt CO2e in 2010, with 50 percent and 37 percent of these
emissions coming from the agricultural and forestry
sectors respectively. In agriculture, livestock production

accounted for more than 40 percent of the emissions,
while in forestry the main culprit was deforestation for
expansion of agricultural land, which accounted for
over 50 percent of forestry-related emissions, followed
9 FAOSTAT, 2015

Burning – Crop residues 0% 4% Burning – Savannah
Crop residues 1%
Manure left on pasture 37% 53% Enteric fermentation

Figure 4: GHG emissions in Ethiopian agriculture in 2012 (FAOSTAT, 2015)
4.2 CSA Technologies and Practices: Adoption Such phenomena pose major threats to the economic
and Implementation use and lifespan of the dam. To this end, different
parties have been raising their concerns over the
CSA practices in Ethiopia include sustainable land danger facing Gilgel Gibe I Dam at different times.
management (SLM), conservation agriculture Prompted by such concerns, several stakeholders
(CA), integrated soil fertility management (ISFM), have been involved in one way or another with the
agroforestry, crop residue management, composting, dam and its watershed, each looking at the problems
integrated watershed management (IWM), crop rotation from its own perspective and trying to address them
and intercropping, use of effective micro-organisms, in its own way.
promotion of improved livestock feed and rangeland
management. Other examples of watershed management activities
include gully reclamation at Yeku Watershed in
• Integrated watershed management: In Ethiopia, Amhara region and scaling up an integrated
integrated watershed management is conducted watershed management approach through social
through various projects and programmes which protection programmes in Ethiopia as well as the
include the SLM Programme (SLMP1 and SLMP2), MERET (Managing Environmental Resources to
MERET project, Productive Safety Nets Programme Enable Transitions to More Sustainable Livelihoods
– Public Works (PSNP-PW) and numerous NGOs. Coordination Unit) and PSNP (Productive Safety
In the example of Gilgel Gibe 1 Dam in the Omo Net Programme) schemes. A local-level participatory
River basin, an assessment of siltation and nutrient planning approach has ensured success for social
enrichment of the dam found that siltation and protection schemes that provide payment in exchange
nutrient enrichment were the major problems in this for work to build public assets. The successful MERET
reservoir (Devi et al., 2007). In addition, river bank programme, which concentrated on integrated
erosion during flash floods and events of landslides watershed management, has informed the broader
upstream of Gilgel Gibe River and its tributaries are Productive Safety Net Programme, heralded as a
important sources of suspended sediments, which get leading example in the fight for food security and
into the reservoir of Gilgel Gibe I hydroelectric plant. inclusive development.10
10 A New Dialogue: Putting People at the Heart of Global Development; Hunger • Nutrition • Climate Justice • 2013

• Integrated soil fertility management: Some soil • Biogas and biomass fuel production: Biogas has
fertility-related programmes currently under way been promoted as a means of managing manure from
by the Ministry of Agriculture include national soil which a large amount of GHG emissions emanate, as
fertility mapping, management of vertisols and acidic well as for domestic energy production. The National
soils, collection of information on soils from various Biogas Programme of 2007 that was spearheaded
stakeholders and implementation of research on by SNV had the goal of constructing 14 000 biogas
recommended soil fertility management practices. A plants in the four selected regions over a period of five
number of NGOs and development partners are also years. Most biogas systems are small scale and utilized
undertaking agricultural development activities related for domestic lighting and cooking by households
to soil fertility improvement. The main activities connected to the biogas digester. At present, the
being promoted include training and promotion of Livestock and Irrigation Value Chains for Ethiopian
appropriate fertilizer application, composting, crop Smallholders (LIVES) Project being implemented by
rotation and intercropping, all conducted with a the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
focus on improving food security. As a result, large seeks to use dairy waste management interventions
numbers of farmers have adopted improved fertilizer to contribute to rural electrification by introducing
application, compost preparation and application alternative energy sources such as biogas. The
as well as intercropping. As part of integrated soil project has introduced a new biogas package which
fertility management, promotion of composting was includes biogas electric generators, biogas pumps/
set as a target in the climate change component of compressors, desulfurizers, dehydrators, biogas
the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP). storage bags and above-ground plastic digesters. The
generator converts biogas to electricity, enabling use
• Conservation agriculture: While soil conservation of modern electric-powered innovations to alleviate
practices such as reduced tillage have long been the challenges of livestock production, marketing
practised by farmers in Ethiopia, the promotion and human development in the rural communities
of conservation agriculture technology began of Ethiopia. Livestock development technologies that
in earnest in 1998 through joint promotion and could be powered by the biogas-generated electricity
demonstration of the technology on 77 farmers’ plots include small-scale milk machines, small-scale milk
by Sasakawa Global (SG2000), Makobu Enterprises coolers as well as incubators and mobile phone-based
and regional agricultural development bureaus. advisory services. Rural communities could also
On average, the yields of the 1998/99 conservation access more information through television and other
agriculture demonstration plots were similar to the communication technologies powered by electricity
average yield of conventional tillage plots. During from biogas.
this introductory period, further trials were carried
out between 1999 and 2003 at Jima, Bako and
Melkasa research centres on maize, sorghum and
teff. These indicated that conservation tillage plots
gave higher yields compared with conventional
tillage (Tesfa, 2001; Worku, 2001; Tolesa, 2001).
The studies also indicated lower production costs
for conservation agriculture fields. Since the initial
trials and introduction, conservation agriculture has
been promoted by different organizations including
FAO, the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA),
CIMMYT and a number of NGOs such as Ethiopia
Wetland, FH Ethiopia, Self Help Africa, AGRA,
Canadian Foodgrains Bank and Wolayita Terepeza
Development Association, among others. Despite
many organizations having conducted or being

involved in the promotion of conservation agriculture,
in general adequate data on conservation agriculture
adoption in Ethiopia is not well documented and
available at all levels.

Box 1: Conservation agriculture principles, practices and technologies in Ethiopia
Although soil tillage has in the past been associated with increased fertility, it has recently been recognized that
this process leads to a reduction of soil organic matter in the long term. Soil organic matter not only provides
nutrients for the crop, but it is also a crucial element for the stabilization of soil structure. Therefore, most soils
degrade under prolonged intensive arable agriculture. This structural degradation of the soils results in the
formation of crusts and compaction and ultimately leads to soil erosion and reduced agricultural productivity.
As a result, the conservation agriculture components that are currently under promotion include:
Reduced tillage: In Ethiopia land preparation is mainly carried out to get rid of weeds, while it also helps in
breaking compacted soils and improving moisture infiltration. Moisture infiltration is much better in soils
that are less tilled but not compacted by the effect of overgrazing. Conservation agriculture using reduced
tillage in Ethiopia has been demonstrated on maize, wheat, teff, sorghum, faba bean and onion and has shown
successful results. Upscaling of conservation technology is currently under way.
Crop residue management: The success of conservation agriculture in Ethiopia is highly dependent on
crop residue management. By providing protective cover for the soil, crop residues increase soil infiltration.
Research has shown that when 35 percent of the soil surface is covered with uniformly distributed residues,
splash erosion will be reduced by up to 85 percent. Approximately two tons of maize residues per hectare
are necessary to obtain 35 percent soil cover. This has been established as the minimum amount required for
achieving a substantial reduction in relative soil erosion (Tolesa, 2001). In many parts of the country, however,
crop residues have traditionally been used for multiple purposes including fuel, building materials and animal
feed, which conflict with their use in conservation agriculture. Among these, livestock-related use (feed) is
probably the most widespread in the country.
Crop rotation and intercropping: In a system with reduced mechanical tillage based on mulch cover and
biological tillage, alternatives have to be developed to control pests and weeds. Practising crop rotation and
intercropping has many advantages, which include reduced risk of pest and weed infestations; better distribution
of water and nutrients through the soil profile; exploration for nutrients and water of diverse strata of the soil
profile by roots of many different plant species, resulting in a greater use of the available nutrients and water;
increased nitrogen fixation through certain plant-soil biota; improved balance of nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium (N-P-K) from both organic and mineral sources; and increased formation of organic matter. Better
nutrient management through crop rotation can decrease nitrogen fertilizer use by up to 100 kg N per hectare
per year, substantially lowering related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (nitrous oxide has a global warming
potential 310 times greater than CO2) as well as reducing the costs of production. Reduced use of synthetic
fertilizer also leads to reduced greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing process and transportation.
However, in most parts of the Ethiopian farming system farmers hardly practise crop rotation and mono-
cropping is the dominant cropping system.

• Agroforestry: Agroforestry, an old agricultural Productivity Project (EAAPP), SLM Programme
activity traditionally practised in many parts of and Agricultural Growth Programme (AGP) are
Ethiopia, involves the integration of trees and shrubs conducting crop variety popularization activities.
into farmland either through planting or natural
regeneration. While traditional practices such as • Traditional CSA practices: Various types of traditional
the intercropping of Moringa trees in farmer fields CSA practices have been implemented and adopted in
do exist, the government of Ethiopia in 2011 also Ethiopia. Such practices include Derashe Traditional
announced a national programme to plant over Conservation Agriculture, Konso Cultural Landscape,
100 million Faidherbia albida trees in farmers’ fields as Hararghe Highland Tradition Soil and Water
part of the activities outlined in the Climate Resilient Conservation, Hararghe Cattle Fattening, Hararghe
Green Economy (CRGE) Strategy. Organizations Small-Scale Traditional Irrigation, Ankober Manure
such as ICRAF are also conducting research into Management, and Traditional Agroforestry in Gedeo,
agroforestry including field trials of different tree East Shewa, East Wollega and West Gojam zones.
species as well as planting densities and tree-crop
combinations and their impact on agricultural yields 4.3 CSA Stakeholders, Programmes and Projects
and the physical environment. In addition, research in Ethiopia
is ongoing into the use of conservation agriculture
with trees (CAWT), a technology which combines 4.3.1 Government programmes
agroforestry and conservation agriculture. Other tree The Ministry of Agriculture: The Ministry is in charge
species that have been used in agroforestry in Ethiopia of the formulation and implementation of agricultural
include Calliandra and Cajanus species. policy. The Ministry has undertaken CSA-related projects
through its Extension, Natural Resources Management,
Livestock, Pastoral and Agropastoral and Soil Fertility
“Organizations such as ICRAF are directorates.
conducting research into agroforestry
• Sustainable Land Management Programme (SLMP):
including field trials of different tree
The SLM II Programme covers six regions, 90 new
species as well as planting densities and 45 existing woredas and 937 kebeles. Direct and
and tree-crop combinations and their indirect beneficiaries of the project include an estimated
impact on agricultural yields and the 1.85 million people. SLM II introduced measures to
physical environment.” address risks related to climate change variability and to
maximize greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions
so as to meet the Growth and Transformation Plan
• Small-scale irrigation: Ethiopia has embarked on (GTP) and the Climate Resilient Green Economy
the promotion and implementation of small-scale (CRGE) goals while reducing land degradation and
irrigation across the country. Consequently, the area improving land productivity of smallholder farmers.
under small-scale irrigation infrastructure increased SLMP2 has a large sub-component on climate-
from 853 000 hectares in 2009 to 2 084 760 hectares in smart agriculture, which is integrated within the
2013, while the area under irrigated crop production component on watershed management, specifically
stood at 1 231 660 hectares in 2013 (MoA, 2014). subcomponent 1.1 that focuses on natural resource
There is a need to ensure that appropriate training management and climate-smart agriculture. Within
in agronomy and water management is given along this subcomponent, CSA systems/practices will be
with support to develop irrigation infrastructure. introduced at homestead level based on the needs of
local farmers and the suitability of local conditions.
• Crop diversification and improved variety Climate-smart agriculture in SLMP-II refers to proven
popularization: As part of ensuring food security, practical techniques – such as mulching, intercropping,
the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) as well as conservation agriculture, no-till, crop rotation, cover
international organizations and NGOs are involved cropping, integrated crop-livestock management,
in the development and popularization of new crops agroforestry, improved grazing and improved water
and crop varieties, both at community and household management – and innovative practices such as the
level. Initiatives like the Eastern Africa Agricultural use of drought-resistant food crops.

In an effort to implement this programme in many activities such as water resource development,
parts of the country, reports indicate that to date rangelands management, and soil and water
about 1 708 100 hectares of land were treated under conservation and capacity-building activities.
area closures, and appropriate physical and biological
soil conservation methods were applied to 2 076 000 • Food Security Programme (FSP) (2010-2014):
hectares of land. At present one of the key activities This programme has four major components – the
will be the development of a CSA implementation Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP); Household
manual for the country that will incorporate key Asset Building Programme (HABP); Complementary
practices such as conservation agriculture, agroforestry Community Investment (CCI) programme; and
and integrated soil fertility management. There is also the Voluntary Resettlement (VR) programme. The
a carbon-monitoring component in SLMP2 which PSNP began in 2005 as a joint programme by the
has the objective of developing tools for determining Government of Ethiopia and a consortium of donors in
carbon sequestration benefits from different farming response to chronic food insecurity in rural Ethiopia.
practices, thus assisting in monitoring their climate- The programme operates as a safety net, targeting
smartness. This component has been included transfers to poor households in two ways – through
primarily because one of the big questions posed in public works (PW) and direct support (DS). The
implementing climate-smart activities was related PSNP reaches more than seven million people and
to how different activities supported the CSA pillar is currently operating in 319 woredas in the country.
on climate change mitigation. The programme The HABP provides credit and agricultural extension
is managed by the SLM Coordination Unit of the services to support vulnerable households to engage
Natural Resources Management Directorate of the in both farm and non-farm activities. The HABP has
Ministry of Agriculture. demonstrated the value of combining social protection
with livelihoods diversification activities to improve
• Drought Resilient and Sustainable Livelihoods household resilience. These programmes are being
Programme (DRSLP): Initiated in 2013, this strengthened through a programme known as the
programme seeks to improve livelihoods and resilience Climate-Smart Initiative (CSI), which enables them
of the pastoral production system in the Afar and to contribute to climate resilience by focusing on
Somali regional states of Ethiopia. The project includes fine-tuning of existing PSNP and HABP livelihood
livestock markets and trade, livelihood support, activities to make them more climate-smart. The CSI
drought risk management, knowledge management is financed by the World Bank and Care Ethiopia
and research, livestock resilience, the Household and implemented by a consortium of partners such
Asset Building Programme (HABP), livelihoods as Farm Africa, ICARDA and ILRI.
diversification and natural resources management

• Agricultural Growth Project: The Agricultural Growth
©FAO/Tamiru Legesse
Project (AGP) of Ethiopia is aimed at increasing agricultural
productivity and market access for key crop and livestock
products in targeted woredas, with increased participation
of women and youth. It has three components: agricultural
production and commercialization; small-scale rural
infrastructure development and management; and AGP
management, monitoring and evaluation (M&E). The
AGP Coordination Unit in the Ministry of Agriculture
is responsible for the implementation of this project.
• MERET Project: The Managing Environmental

Resources to Enable Transitions (MERET) to More
Sustainable Livelihoods Coordination Unit is a World
Food Programme (WFP) supported project initiated in
the 1980s. This marked the beginning of large-scale soil
and water conservation in Ethiopia. The main objectives
are to increase the ability of food-insecure households to
meet their necessary food needs and improve livelihoods
through land rehabilitation, proper natural resources
management, productivity enhancement, asset creation
and diversification of livelihoods. MERET operates
in five regions and one administrative council in 72
woredas (Tigray [17], Amhara [23], Oromia [16], SNNP
[12], Somali [3] and Diredewa [1]), covering 500 sub-
watersheds. Beneficiaries number about 1,5 million per
annum (of which 40 percent are women). The major
activity components are water harvesting, reforestation,
seedling production, soil fertility management and
construction of farmland terraces. The project is run by
the MERET Coordination Unit in the Natural Resources
Management Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Ex-Ante Carbon-Balance (c-balance) Analysis for
the Agricultural Growth Project (AGP) in Ethiopia
showed that the net effect of AGP is to create a carbon
(C) sink of 5.9 MtCO2e over 20 years, which represents
the balance between the GHG emitted (mainly as a
consequence of the increased use in agro-chemicals
and of the infrastructure planned) and C sequestered
(essentially through scaling-up of best practices). The
adoption of sustainable agricultural practices could
therefore be seen as complementary to the intensification
of crop production, not only for the relevant agronomic
implications, but also from a climate change mitigation
point of view.
Ministry of Environment and Forests: The Ministry

©FAO/Sebastian Grey
of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is responsible for

environmental and forest development in the country. It
has a regulatory role and coordinates activities within line
ministries, agencies and non-governmental organizations
which include policy issues such as implementation,

institutional coordination, legislative framework and contribute directly to Ethiopia’s Climate Resilient Green
monitoring and evaluation. The Ministry is implementing Economy Strategy and will be fully aligned with the
a number of CSA-related activities. Most prominently national REDD+ strategy.
it is implementing REDD+ activities aimed at reducing
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA): This
and enhancing the role played by conservation and government agency was established to transform the
sustainable management of forests in climate change agriculture sector and realize the interconnected goals
mitigation. This was one of the early priorities in the of food security, poverty reduction and human and
CRGE. The country has thus been taking steps towards economic development. The agency is currently working
the undertaking of REDD+ readiness studies, conducting on numerous climate-related proposals, policies and
national forest assessments, setting reference levels, activities, including a study on conservation agriculture
identifying safeguards, testing forest management and identification of climate-resilient agricultural
models and developing national forest monitoring activities. Plastic rain gauges have been established
and measurement reporting and verification (MRV) in 28 woredas as part of a CSA initiative to monitor
systems, among other assessments that can inform the rainfall with the aim of harvesting rain water. ATA
country’s national REDD+ strategy and programme. also has a project funded by DANIDA on greening the
In May 2013, the Government of Ethiopia recognized transformation agenda to integrate CSA initiatives across
the Oromia REDD+ programme as a national REDD+ the various government departments. In past years,
pilot programme. The Oromia state region comprises ATA trained 327 experts and 750 development agents
60 percent of Ethiopia’s high forests and 15 million (DAs) in conservation agriculture in selected woredas
hectares of woodland. The overall goal of the REDD+ in the country. ATA also supported 6 000 farmers in
Pilot Programme in the Oromia state region is to reduce seven woredas to practise conservation agriculture in
deforestation and forest degradation and increase carbon 2013. Their target for 2014 was to have 50 000 farmers
absorption in land, while contributing to reducing poverty practising conservation agriculture in 57 woredas across
among Oromia’s rural population. This programme will the country.

4.3.2 Development Agencies and grass clearing which, upon abandonment during the
Non-Governmental Organizations shifting cycle, would rapidly regenerate to get back to
World Vision Ethiopia (WVE) has been implementing its original state. Currently, with new immigrants, there
a carbon credit project since 2006. The Humbo Assisted is a dominance of an intensive mixed-crop farming and
Natural Regeneration Project is a community-managed livestock production system with intensive cultivation.
afforestation and reforestation initiative in Humbo state This farming system has led to clearance of trees and
region, covering 2 728 hectares. The project is funded shrubs, as well as intensive soil disturbance that is causing
by the World Bank Bio Carbon Fund under the Clean rapid soil degradation. The ultimate goal of the FSEG
Development Mechanism (CDM) of the United Nations project is improving food security and strengthening
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). the capacity of the region to support its own economic
The project was developed by World Vision Australia. It growth, while the ultimate outcome is improved food
is World Vision’s first climate change mitigation project security and economic growth for women and men in
and also one of the first registered Clean Development the Benishangul-Gumuz region. Some key activities
Mechanism (CDM) forestry projects in Africa. The aim is included livelihood diversification, distribution of tree
to regenerate the degraded native forests with indigenous seedlings, introduction of improved crop varieties and
biodiverse species. The forests act as a carbon sink to market support to enable sale of produce.
mitigate climate change, while at the same time building
environmental, social and economic resilience to land
degradation and future climate change impacts. Over “Currently, with new immigrants, there is
the 30-year crediting period it is estimated that over
a dominance of an intensive mixed-crop
870 000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent will be removed
farming and livestock production system
from the atmosphere, making a significant contribution to
mitigating climate change as a direct result of the project. with intensive cultivation.”
Sasakawa Global (SG2000) has been implementing the

Crop Productivity Enhancement (CPE) programme since The Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) is a partnership
1996, with five thematic areas – productivity; post-harvest of 15 Canadian churches and church-based agencies
and post-processing; public-private partnerships; human working together to end global hunger. CFGB has
resource management; and monitoring and evaluation. established programme areas in Ethiopia, Kenya and
SG2000 supports over 250 farmer training centres in Tanzania, where conservation agriculture has been
60 woredas where CSA is one of the key activities. locally adopted and proven to improve soil health, the
Currently, SG2000 is promoting high-yielding crop profitability of farmers and overall system resilience.
varieties as well as quality protein maize in 24 maize- The CFGB network is well known for delivering an
dominant districts of the country. SG2000 has also been extensive large-scale conservation agriculture programme
one of the key organizations involved in the introduction in sub-Saharan Africa. The programme, in partnership
and promotion of conservation agriculture in Ethiopia with eight NGOs (known informally as a CA Hub), is
as well as in other Eastern African countries. currently operating in Afar, Oromia, Somali and SNNP
regional states of Ethiopia.
Food for the Hungry Ethiopia (FHE) has been
implementing the Benishangul-Gumuz (BSG) Food
Security and Economic Growth (FSEG) project since
2010. This five-year programme began in January
2010 and continued up to June 2015. The project was
implemented by a consortium of seven partners –
Save the Children International SCI-led agency; CHF
(formerly Canadian Hunger Foundation); Canadian
Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR); Food for the
Hungry Ethiopia (FHE) Oxfam Canada, World Vision
and the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan
©Marc Bleich
(INBAR). The Benishangul-Gumuz area was initially

covered with trees and shrubs, but was later integrated
into a forest with minor reduction of stem density and

FAO/Eddy Patrick Donkeng
CARE Ethiopia has been implementing the Climate implemented in 40 woredas of the four main regions of
Smart Initiative that builds on the Productive Safety Net Ethiopia – Amhara, Oromia, Tigray and SNNP Regional
Programme (PSNP) and the Household Asset Building States. It has a number of components, which focus
Programme (HABP). In 2005, the Government started on addressing acidic soils; new fertilizer scaling-up;
a major new initiative – the Productive Safety Net P-fertilizer application on soil test base; and conservation
Programme. The Productive Safety Net Programme and agriculture.
the Household Asset Building Programme (HABP) are
two important and interlinked food-security programmes International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology
within the MoA. Recognizing the huge implications (icipe): Icipe has been implementing the Climate-Smart
of climate change for food security, the PSNP and Push-Pull Technology Promotion project. This technology
HABP partners commissioned the Climate Smart is promoted jointly by icipe and the Jima Zone Agricultural
Initiative (CSI). The CSI is aimed at strengthening the Office. The project started in 2013 in Boterbecho woreda
PSNP and the HABP in relation to predicted climate and is operating in nine kebeles. So far 1 080 farmers
change, and considering how the existing programmes have participated in the demonstration of green leaf
may evolve after their end-dates in 2014. Making the desmodium and Brachiaria grass used biologically for
safety net climate-smart will involve systematically the control of maize stalk borer.
integrating the implications of climate change into the
current PSNP and HABP, and determining how a next- Farm Africa is implementing a joint project on climate-
generation resilience-building programme could enable smart agriculture with SOS Sahel, Self Help Africa and
the Ethiopian Government to manage risks related to Vita in 15 woredas of SNNP Regional State in Southern
climate change. The project is implemented by Farm Ethiopia. The landscape approach is employed with the
Africa in partnership with ICARDA and ILRI, working aim of sustainable land management. Activities include
with over 2 800 farmers in Bale zone to pilot new varieties promotion of agroforestry; small-scale irrigation; soil and
of chickpea, lentil and faba bean. water conservation; small ruminant rearing; cut-and-
carry livestock feed promotion, and promotion of value
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA): chain crops like pepper. Farm Africa is also supporting
AGRA has been implementing a project on soil health the Climate-Smart Initiative for PSNP beneficiaries in
called Enhancing Income of Smallholder Farmers through partnership with CARE International as well as the Bale
Integrated Soil Fertility Management. The project is REDD+ project being implemented jointly with SOS Sahel.

Climate Change Forum – Ethiopia (CCF-E): The CCF-E convener for Ethiopia. FAO will be supporting technical
is a multi-stakeholder group that meets regularly to discuss aspects of the work in Ethiopia, as well as in other pilot
national responses to climate change. The CCF-E serves countries and in Africa as a whole. A major ongoing
a broader coordination function by bringing together area of work at continental level is the development of
government, national and international NGOs, academia a CSA Practical Guide for Sub-Saharan Africa which
and research institutes as well as bilateral, regional and will be rolled out and adapted to the sub-regional and
multilateral donors to meet and cooperate on a wide country contexts.
array of climate change-related issues. The NGO is also
implementing climate change adaptation agricultural Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
activities in woredas like Lume, Dugda and Adama. Nations (FAO): FAO has over the years provided
Climate change-related activities of the NGO include support to the piloting of conservation agriculture
biological soil conservation, physical soil conservation, and other climate-smart practices in Ethiopia. For
water harvesting, small-scale irrigation and promotion example, FAO has in the past supported the Ministry of
of horticulture crops for livelihood diversification. Agriculture in demonstrating conservation agriculture
to 600 smallholder farmers on 24 demonstration plots
in 12 woredas of Amhara, Tigray, Oromiya and SNNP
“The main aim of the Africa Climate-Smart regions. FAO also introduced conservation agriculture
equipment including jab planters and oxen-drawn seed
Agriculture Alliance is to support the rapid
and fertilizer planters in those same woredas in 2010.
scaling-up of climate-smart agriculture to FAO supported the training of 72 extension agents in
six million farming households conducting conservation agriculture farmer field schools,
across Africa, through the collaborative of which 32 were also trained in conservation agriculture
equipment assembly and operations. In addition, FAO
efforts and practical, on‑the‑ground
organized an experience-sharing visit to Zambia for
experience of Alliance members in Ethiopian government staff so as to create awareness
agricultural research and implementation.” and bring back learning on conservation agriculture
from that country.
Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance (ACSAA): At present FAO, with funding from COMESA through the
The ACSAA, also known as the AU-NEPAD-INGO project titled FAO Technical Support to the COMESA-EAC-
Alliance for Scaling-Up Climate-Smart Agriculture SADC Programme on Climate Change Adaptation and
in Africa, was announced in June 2014 at the African Mitigation in Eastern and Southern Africa, is supporting
Union (AU) Summit in Malabo. The main aim of the the National Conservation Agriculture Taskforce
alliance is to support the rapid scaling-up of climate- (NCATF). The NCATF was formed in March 2014 at a
smart agriculture to six million farming households National Conservation Agriculture Taskforce Formation
across Africa, through the collaborative efforts and Workshop. The role of the NCTAF includes supporting
practical, on-the-ground experience of Alliance members conservation agriculture coordination at national
in agricultural research and implementation. The Alliance level, leading promotion of conservation agriculture
is coordinated by a pan-African steering committee that implementation, providing technical support to federal
is convened by NEPAD and comprises international and regional conservation agriculture implementing
NGO members Care International, Concern Worldwide, institutions, mobilizing resources and identifying issues
Catholic Relief Services, Oxfam and World Vision; and for policy decisions and interventions. The task force falls
technical members FAO, FANRPAN, FARA and CGIAR. under the Natural Resources Management Directorate
The Alliance is unique in that NGOs are explicitly of the Ministry of Agriculture and is composed of
recognized for their involvement with communities and members representing different conservation agriculture
thus their ability to promote CSA at grassroots level. The stakeholder groups which include government, NGOs,
Alliance is closely linked with NEPAD’s programmes research institutions and the private sector. FAO expects
on agriculture and climate change, which are targeting to provide further support to the scaling-up of CSA in the
having 25 million farmers practising CSA by 2025. Three country through conducting awareness raising events,
“fast-start” countries have been identified for Alliance supporting climate-smarting of Ethiopia’s Agriculture
activities (Ethiopia, Niger and Zambia), and activities Sector Policy and Investment Framework (PIF) and
are expected to expand to other countries in the future. conducting various other CSA promotional activities
Concern Worldwide has been selected as the interim as per government priorities.

4.3.3 Research and Academic Institutions for Sustainable Intensification (FACASI) project; and the
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre Adoption Pathways Programme.
(CIMMYT): CIMMYT has been implementing the
Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume cropping International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-
systems for food security in Eastern and Southern Africa Arid Tropics (ICRISAT): ICRISAT has a “breeding
(SIMLESA) project. SIMLESA started operating in for resistance” programme for short-season varieties in
Ethiopia in 2010 to increase farm-level food security and the dryland areas of Ethiopia. The project is aimed at
income through conservation agriculture technologies that promoting local production of nitrogenous fertilizers
ensure sustainability and productivity. The programme is by conversion of atmospheric nitrogen gas into chemical
currently operating in eight federal and regional research fertilizers. The breeding project uses a farming model
centres in 17 districts. The aim of the programme is known as TOA-MD that calculates the benefits of each
to improve farm-level food security and productivity, crop production. This model takes into account the farm
in the context of climate risk and change, through the size and inputs required to produce a certain crop and
development of more resilient, profitable and sustainable this saves the farmer time and money. The “breeding
farming systems that overcome food insecurity for for resistance” programme also looks at climate models
significant numbers of farmers. The programme promotes (about 20 Atmospheric Ocean General Climate Models
the use of maize-legume technologies of adapted varieties [AOGCMs]) and their effects on crop production. Other
and develops comprehensive agronomic packages that crop simulation models used as initiatives for supporting
increase productivity and sustainable intensification climate-smart agriculture are:
of maize-legume cropping systems. CIMMYT is also • DSSAT model: Decision Support System for Agro-
undertaking, or is involved in, a number of other projects technology Transfer;
with a CSA component, which include the Conservation • APSIM: Agriculture Production System Simulator;
Agriculture and Smallholder Farmers in Eastern and and
Southern Africa (CASFESA) project funded by EU-IFAD; • EPIC: Environmental Policy Integrated Climate.
the Farm Mechanization and Conservation Agriculture

World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF): ICRAF stresses Ethiopia. CSA activities promoted in these climate-
the importance of growing trees and shrubs on farms smart villages include agroforestry, intercropping, use
and in rural areas, combined with crops and livestock, of drought-resistant varieties and integrated soil fertility
to create profitable, productive, healthy and sustainable management. Innovative methods for access to climate-
landscapes. Over three billion people worldwide use smart information will also be tested.
fuelwood and other solids for cooking, boiling water,
light and heat. Planting the right trees provides easy International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI): The
access to fuel and reduce pressure on forests. ICRAF is Livestock and Irrigation Value Chains for Ethiopian
implementing a project on creating a Climate-Resilient Smallholders (LIVES) Project being implemented by
Watershed for Transforming Lives and Landscapes ILRI seeks to use dairy waste management interventions
in the Geregera Watershed. The project is funded by to contribute to rural electrification by introducing
Irish-Aid, whose goal was to enhance food security and alternative energy sources such as biogas. The project
ecosystem resilience through integrating climate-smart has introduced a new biogas package which includes
agriculture in watershed-management practices. The biogas electric generators, biogas pumps/compressors,
Geregera Watershed is located in the eastern zone of desulfurizers, dehydrators, biogas storage bags and
Tigray region, with an area size of 1 382 hectares. The above-ground plastic digesters. The generator converts
watershed is characterized by its undulating topography. biogas to electricity, enabling use of modern electric-
powered innovations to alleviate the challenges of livestock
Another initiative being implemented by ICRAF is the production, marketing and human development in the
Creating an Evergreen Agriculture in Africa project for rural communities of Ethiopia. Livestock development
food security and environmental resilience. This is a technologies that could be powered by the biogas-
more intensive form of farming that integrates trees with generated electricity include small-scale milk machines,
crops and livestock production. The vision is sustaining small-scale milk coolers as well as incubators and mobile
a green cover on the land throughout the year. Evergreen phone-based advisory services. Rural communities could
agriculture takes into account the role of Faidherbia also access more information through television and
albida trees in Ethiopian agriculture. Faidherbia albida other communication technologies powered by electricity
trees smarten agricultural systems to create resilience to from biogas. In addition, the project has also tested the
climate change, eradicate food insecurity and improve packaging and transportation of the biogas produced in
community livelihoods. Evergreen agriculture allows a PVC plastic bags.
glimpse into a future with more environmentally sound
farming, where much of our annual food crop production 4.3.4 Private Sector
occurs under a full canopy of trees.11 Makobu Enterprises: Makobu Enterprises is a privately
owned business which has joined hands with SG2000 to
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR): facilitate training in conservation agriculture across the
EIAR, along with the seven regional research institutes, country. While SG2000 was responsible for undertaking
higher learning institutions (HLI), NGOs and private and monitoring training, Makobu Enterprises imported
companies that make up the country’s national agricultural and made available key inputs required for conservation
research system, is involved in a number of CSA-related agriculture, such as herbicides and seeds. Makobu
programmes and projects, including the SIMLESA and Enterprises has also been implementing a project on
FACASI programmes, as well as conducting research on Efficient Clean Cook Stoves (ECCS) and ethanol, which
evaluating the potential for climate change mitigation and encourages the use of ethanol energy as a local by-
adaptation of conservation agriculture through modelling product, thus minimizing the cutting down of trees. The
and on-station experiments and development of agro- company also promotes the use of selective herbicides
weather tools for climate-smart agriculture. (Roundup) for weed control in large-scale commercial
farming. The company has expressed its desire to work
CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, more closely with Ministry of Agriculture structures in a
Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS): The CCAFS public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement in order to
has been supporting a number of CSA initiatives in scale up conservation agriculture to parts of the country
Ethiopia. These include the establishment and piloting the company has not yet reached.
of climate-smart villages in Borana Zone in southern
11 World Agroforestry Centre. 2009. Creating an Evergreen Agriculture in Africa for Food Security and Environmental Resilience.

4.4 Key Policies Relevant to CSA in Ethiopia Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) Strategy: The
CRGE Strategy was developed in 2011 and launched at
Ethiopia has a consistent set of policies and strategies the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
for agriculture and rural development that reflect the Framework Convention on Climate Change in Durban in
importance of the sector to the economy and livelihoods 2011. It takes an economy-wide approach to greenhouse
of its people. While the country does not have a stand- gas reduction. According to this strategy, Ethiopia aims
alone climate-smart agriculture strategy or programme, to achieve carbon-neutral middle-income status before
significant efforts have been made to develop policies 2025. The strategy is based on four pillars, of which the
and strategies pertinent to climate change. Some policies, first two (shown below) are mainly related to CSA.
laws and strategies relevant to climate-smart agriculture
in Ethiopia are the Climate Resilient Green Economy • Agriculture: improving crop and livestock production
Strategy (2011), National Adaptation Program of Action practices for greater food security and better income
(NAPA), Ethiopian Programme of Adaptation to Climate for farmers, while reducing emissions.
Change (EPACC) of 2011, the Agriculture Sector • Forests: protecting and re-establishing forests for their
Policy and Investment Framework (PIF, 2010), Rural economic and ecological values, including carbon
Development Policy and Strategy (2003), the Growth stocks.
and Transformation Plan (GTP), CAADP Compact and
the National Environmental Policy of Ethiopia (1997), Established within the Natural Resources Management
among others. Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, the CRGE
Coordination Unit is mainly responsible for mainstreaming
climate adaptation and mitigation strategies into the
“Ethiopia has a consistent set of regular activities of each sector. The CRGE Coordination
Unit is implementing a pilot programme known as
policies and strategies for agriculture
Agriculture Sector Fast-Track CRGE in 27 woredas of
and rural development that reflect the the four main regions of the country.
importance of the sector to the economy
and livelihoods of its people.” Ethiopian Programme of Adaptation to Climate Change
(EPACC): EPACC aims to build a climate-resilient
economy through adaptation initiatives implemented
at sectoral, regional and local community levels. The
EPACC replaced the NAPA in 2011 and takes a more
programmatic approach to adaptation planning. It

outlines 29 components that include objectives around
mainstreaming climate change within government policies
and plans. In response, the country has prepared sectoral
and regional programmes of adaptation to climate change.
The Agriculture Sector Programme of Adaptation

to Climate Change was formulated in 2011 with the
following objectives:
• to realize the commitment of the country to UNFCCC,
that demands the integration of climate change into
sectoral policies and development efforts;
• to have a working climate change adaptation plan that,
after implementation, minimizes the vulnerability of
the agriculture sector and the community to climate
change hazards, and increases the strength of the sector
to tolerate predicted climate change impacts; and
• to mainstream and incorporate climate change
adaptation into the social system and existing
development efforts from bottom to top levels, making
use of the mobilization and coordination of the people
(FDRE, 2011).

National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA): As of smallholder agricultural producers was accorded
a Party to the UNFCCC, Ethiopia prepared its NAPA in primary focus. The PIF falls within the mandate of the
2007. The NAPA represented the first step in coordinating Rural Economic Development and Food Security (RED
adaptation activities across government sectors. The & FS) Sector Working Group. The platform brings
NAPA document for Ethiopia identified immediate and together government and development partners under
urgent adaptation activities that address current and three thematic technical committees – Agricultural
anticipated adverse effects of climate change, including Growth, Sustainable Land Management and Disaster
extreme climate events. It provides a framework to guide Risk Management and Food Security (DRMFS).
the coordination and implementation of adaptation
initiatives in the country through a participatory approach,
building synergies with other relevant environmental “A number of instruments need to be
and related programmes and projects.
considered for adapting to climate change,
Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP): In 2010 including research on new crops
Ethiopia developed a Growth and Transformation and farming systems suited to hotter/drier
Plan (GTP) for the period 2010/11-2014/15. The GTP conditions, water harvesting,
recognizes that the environment is a vital pillar of agroforestry, improved short-term and
sustainable development, and states that building a ‘Green
long-term weather forecasting, and risk
Economy’ and ongoing implementation of environmental
laws are among the key strategic directions to be pursued management measures to cope with
during the plan period. The GTP addresses climate change increasing climatic variability.”
as a crosscutting issue under the strategic priority of
environment and climate change. It outlines building a
climate-resilient green economy as a strategic priority Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development
for the country. Programme (CAADP) Compact: The programme
has been endorsed by the African Heads of State and
Ethiopia’s Agricultural Sector Policy and Investment Government as a framework for the restoration of
Framework (PIF) 2010-2020: The PIF provides a agricultural growth, food security and rural development
strategic framework for the prioritization and planning in Africa. One of the pillars of CAADP is extending the
of investments that will drive Ethiopia’s agricultural area under sustainable land management and reliable
growth and development. It is designed to operationalize water control systems, and CSA falls under this pillar.
the CAADP Compact signed by the Government and Ethiopia developed a CAADP Compact in 2009 and this
its development partners. The PIF states that climate provides the consensus around the goals and priorities
change is a crosscutting issue that will be addressed in that Ethiopia has set to accelerate agricultural growth,
all areas of the PIF and that a number of instruments improve food security and thereby improve livelihoods,
need to be considered for adapting to climate change, and the partnerships and assistance required to achieve
including research on new crops and farming systems these goals. In Ethiopia, government programme
suited to hotter/drier conditions, water harvesting, and project activities were aligned with the CAADP
agroforestry, improved short-term and long-term weather pillars. Accordingly, the Sustainable Land Management
forecasting, and risk management measures to cope with Programme, which has been financed by the World Bank
increasing climatic variability. Mitigation measures such and other donors, is implementing Pillar I of CAADP,
as carbon sequestration through conservation agriculture which is improving natural resource management and
and reforestation should also be considered. In this utilization.
way, climate change issues will be mainstreamed into
the PIF by undertaking carbon accounting studies of Environmental Impact Assessment Proclamation:
all key investments and identifying opportunities for An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a tool
adaptation and mitigation. The policy framework is based used for the assessment of environmental projects to
on the concept of the Agricultural Development-Led ensure that the environmental implications are taken
Industrialisation (ADLI) Strategy that was introduced into account before decisions are made. In Ethiopia, the
in the 1990s and was meant to be the cornerstone for EIA Proclamation of 2002 and the procedural guidelines
economic recovery and agrarian transformation. Under developed by the Environmental Protection Agency
this strategy, ensuring improvements in the performance (EPA) set the framework for EIA processes. With regard

to development projects, the proclamation stipulates Ethiopia Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions
that no person shall commence implementation of a (NAMA): Ethiopia has reaffirmed its commitment to the
proposed project identified by directive as requiring EIA Copenhagen Accord and has submitted a statement to
without first passing through an environmental impact the UNFCCC highlighting potential NAMAs in various
assessment process and obtaining authorization from areas including agriculture and forestry. In forestry this
the competent organization. includes enhanced reforestation actions and sustainable
forest management, reclamation of degraded lands,
Environmental Policy of Ethiopia: The Government controlled grazing and area closures, and creation of
of Ethiopia (GoE) issued an Environmental Policy in forest buffers to halt desertification. In agriculture this
1997. The aim was to rectify the economic and social includes composting and practising of agroforestry.
costs of environmental damage from widespread
mismanagement of environmental resources, and International climate change policy regime: Ethiopia is
to provide overall guidance in the conservation and a signatory to a number of multilateral agreements that
sustainable utilization of the country’s environmental have a bearing on the sustainable development efforts of
resources. The policies consider the vulnerability of the country. As a result, Ethiopia has signed and/or ratified
the country to climate variability and aim to promote many of the international conventions and protocols
a climate-monitoring programme, take appropriate related to climate change and land degradation including
mitigation measures, develop the energy sector, actively the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
participate in protecting the ozone layer and maximize the Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological
standing biomass in the country through a combination Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Convention
of reforestation, agroforestry, rehabilitation of degraded to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). In June 2015,
areas, re-vegetation, control of free-range grazing (in the Ethiopia became the first least developed country to
highlands) and seeking financial support for offsetting submit its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution
carbon dioxide emissions from such activities. (INDC) to the UNFCCC. Ethiopia’s INDC represents the
Table 1: Summary of key policies relevant to CSA in Ethiopia
Policy Year Intention or goal

Environmental Policy of 1997 Overall guidance in the conservation and sustainable utilization of
Ethiopia the country’s environmental resources.
Environmental Impact 2002 Ensure that the environmental implications are taken into account
Assessment Proclamation before decisions are made.
National Adaptation 2007 The NAPA represented the first step in coordinating adaptation activities
Program of Action (NAPA): across government sectors.
CAADP Compact 2009 One of the pillars of CAADP is extending the area under sustainable
land management and reliable water control systems.
Growth and Transformation 2010 The GTP recognizes that the environment is a vital pillar of sustainable
Plan (GTP) development.
Agriculture Sector Policy 2010 The goal of the PIF is to “contribute to Ethiopia’s achievement of
and Investment Framework middle-income status by 2020”. The development objective is to
(PIF) “sustainably increase rural incomes and national food security”. This
objective embodies the concepts of producing more, selling more,
nurturing the environment, eliminating hunger and protecting the
vulnerable against shocks.
Agriculture Sector 2011 The Agriculture Sector Adaptation Plan to Climate Change.
Programme on Adaptation
to Climate Change (APACC)
Ethiopian Programme 2011 More programmatic approach to adaptation planning.
of Adaptation to Climate
Change (EPACC)
Climate Resilient Green 2011 Aims for carbon-neutral middle-income status by 2025.
Economy Strategy

country’s targets to contribute to global GHG mitigation to access, roles which are primarily those of women.
efforts and represents a 64 percent emissions reduction This forces rural women to walk longer distances to
target from the business-as-usual scenario by 2030. The fetch water and collect fuelwood. CSA practices can
INDC is based on the CRGE and places emphasis on have many benefits for women. These practices can
the forestry sector for the country’s GHG reductions. reduce and spread their workload over time and reduce
The INDC also reflects the need to reduce vulnerability their burden of fetching water for crops. The practices
and build resilience to climate hazards in key sectors can enable early planting of crops, make women less
of the economy. Important to note is that the INDC’s dependent on oxen or mechanical tillage equipment,
implementation is highly conditional to financial and increase crop productivity and production of different
technical support from the global development and crops, and increase food security and nutrition among
climate financing community and the estimated costs women and vulnerable groups. Studies on the gender
are $150 billion in the period up to 2030. implications of CSA practices for example conservation
agriculture in the FACASI project are ongoing. Other
4.5 Gender Issues for CSA in Ethiopia programmes such as the NEPAD Gender Climate Change
Agriculture Support Programme (GCCASP) are also
In Ethiopia, the majority of the poorest people are being rolled out in Africa of which Ethiopia is one of the
composed of women, the disabled and those living pilot countries where the programme will assist small-
with HIV/AIDS, who are also the most vulnerable to holder women farmers to address the challenges posed
climate change. Climate variability and change affects by climate change. More gender-focused work on CSA
women as it makes fuelwood and water more difficult is needed in the country.

4.6 Constraints to CSA Promotion and Adoption still not reaching the broader farming population.
in Ethiopia Constraints to wide dissemination, access to and
operationalization of research findings need to be
• Food insecure farmers find it costly to invest in better examined and addressed.
land and agricultural management systems which • A large number of short-term to medium-term
often have slow returns on investments. Many climate- programmes and projects are conducted in a
smart agriculture practices that require establishment fragmented manner by a wide number of stakeholders
and maintenance costs can take considerable time that are unsustainable in the long run. There is a need
before farmers benefit from them. Limited access to for harmonization in the approach to climate-smart
markets and capital compounds the issues related to agriculture promotion as well as strengthening of
investments in improved agricultural practices and climate-smart agriculture coordination mechanisms.
limits the ability of farmers to invest in practices that • The current extension system is not geared towards
will raise their income in the long run and improve climate-smart agriculture and while efforts are ongoing
the sustainability and resilience of their production to address this issue, it will take considerable effort
systems. and time to change the mindset of farmers so that
• There are practices that are difficult to integrate into they move from unsustainable practices to more
existing farming systems because they impact on sustainable climate-smart agricultural practices.
other elements of the farming system. For example, • The livestock subsector, where a considerable
the timing of a practice may lead to labour constraints; proportion of the agricultural GHG emissions
high investment or maintenance costs may exceed emanate and where the potential for the reduction
the capacity of asset-poor farmers; and competition of agricultural GHG emissions is greatest, has
for crop residues may restrict the availability of feed unfortunately not received the focus and attention
for livestock and biogas production. the sector warrants, especially from a GHG mitigation
• There is a general lack of quality agricultural inputs, perspective.
particularly in rural communities where quality
agrochemicals, farm implements and equipment,
seeds, tree seedlings and other inputs necessary for “The livestock subsector, where a
practising climate-smart agriculture are either not
considerable proportion of the agricultural
readily available or unaffordable. In many cases low-
quality inputs and implements are used, resulting in GHG emissions emanate and where the
suboptimal results which can ultimately have a negative potential for the reduction of agricultural
impact on the promotion of climate-smart practices. GHG emissions is greatest, has
• There is a general lack of knowledge on climate-smart
unfortunately not received the focus and
practices and misconceptions about what climate-
smart agriculture is. Some believe that CSA is merely attention the sector warrants, especially
conservation agriculture, when in fact it is a range of from a GHG mitigation perspective.”
sustainable farming practices.
• There is often competition between crops and livestock
for mulch, which is usually required as animal fodder. 4.7 Opportunities for CSA Promotion in Ethiopia
Live mulch is almost always a food preference for
livestock when it is available. Overgrazing and a • For smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, the possibility
lack of strong rangeland management bylaws and for greater food security and increased income –
regulatory measures result in land degradation and together with greater resilience to weather variability
a further lack of availability of mulch. and climate shocks rather than mitigation benefits –
• Increased population, land fragmentation and will be significant drivers for adopting climate-
inadequate land tenure systems that do not encourage smart agriculture practices. For intensive mechanized
investment in the land mean that farmers are unwilling agricultural operations, the opportunities to reduce
to make significant investments in sustainable emissions and costs associated with the efficient use of
agricultural practices that may or may not produce energy and resources will be of greater interest. There
immediate or short-term results. are a number of other opportunities for supporting the
• While extensive CSA-related research is being promotion and adoption of climate-smart agriculture
done in the country, many of the technologies are practices in the country.

• There is great willingness and commitment on the • The presence of private sector companies, international
part of government to reduce poverty; improve development organizations and numerous NGOs
agricultural production and productivity (as one involved in CSA-related activities presents an
of the mainstays of the economy); and ensure food opportunity for upscaling CSA across the country.
security while addressing climate change. Ethiopia is • The existence of a large national research network
one of the countries that have consistently invested through the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural
more than 10 percent of their national budget in Research as well as the presence of a number of
agriculture. CGIAR institutes, many of whom have either country
• Ethiopia has appropriate national policies and strategies offices or regional offices in Ethiopia, presents a
such as the Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) great opportunity to enhance, increase coverage of
Strategy, with some structures already in place to and disseminate research technologies and findings
support their implementation. In addition, some related to climate-smart agriculture.
of these policies have been implemented through • Ethiopia’s large agricultural extension system, with
large agricultural government programmes which an estimated 8 500 farmer training centres and over
incorporate climate-smart agriculture, such as the 45 000 development agents stationed at kebele level
Sustainable Land Management Programme and the throughout the country, provides an opportunity for
Productive Safety Nets Programme. large-scale awareness raising, training and support for
• The current emphasis on the promotion of integrated farmers on climate-smart agriculture. The extension
watershed management to improve agricultural service itself needs to wholly embrace the different
productivity and promote sustainable land climate-smart agriculture practices appropriate for
management provides a good opportunity for large- different locations and build the necessary capacity
scale implementation and promotion of climate-smart in these practices.
practices.

@FAO/Emah Madegwa
Country Study 2: Kenya
5
5.1 Overview of the Agriculture Sector in Kenya (ASALs). According to the 2009 livestock census, the
country had a livestock population of 17.5 million cattle;
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and 27.7 million goats; 17 million sheep; and 31.8 million
Fisheries (MALF)12, agriculture is the main economic domestic birds, among other livestock kept in the country.
sector, accounting for over 25 percent of the gross Kenya’s national forest cover is approximately 6.9 percent,
domestic product (GDP), over 65 percent of Kenya’s much lower than the internationally suggested minimum
total exports and providing more than 18 percent of of 10 percent. The fisheries and aquaculture subsector also
formal employment. Production is carried out on farms plays an important role in food and nutrition security
averaging 0.2–3 hectares, mostly on a commercial basis. and is composed of both freshwater and marine fisheries,
This small-scale production accounts for over 75 percent which contribute about 0.5 percent of the country’s
of the total agricultural output and over 70 percent of national GDP.
marketed agricultural produce. Growth of the national
economy is therefore highly correlated to growth and
development in agriculture. However, Kenya’s agriculture “According to the 2009 livestock census,
is 98 percent rain-fed and predominantly small-scale,
the country had a livestock population
especially in the medium to high-potential areas, covering
of 17.5 million cattle; 27.7 million goats;
about 15 percent of the country. Therefore, productivity
in the sector is directly influenced by climatic conditions. 17 million sheep; and 31.8 million
The livestock subsector employs 50 percent of the domestic birds, among other livestock kept
agricultural labour force and is the mainstay for over 10 in the country.”
million Kenyans living in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands
12 Kenya Climate-Smart Agriculture Programme 2015-2025

Farming systems in Kenya fall under four distinct Large commercial farms account for over 40 percent
categories: of irrigated land, while the smallholder farmers and
• Small-scale mixed farming: Kenya’s agriculture is government-managed schemes account for 42 percent
predominantly small-scale farming, mainly in the and 18 percent of irrigated land respectively (MTIP
high and medium potential (rainfall) areas. The sector 2012-17).
accounts for over 75 percent of the total agricultural
output and 70 percent of the marketed agricultural Overall, dependence on rain-fed agriculture and declining
produce. soil health have increased the vulnerability of farming
• Large-scale farming: This is rapidly dying out except systems and exposed rural households to food insecurity
for the horticultural sector, where large-scale farms and poverty. Kenya is now increasingly seeing changes
are being converted from rain-fed production of in the onset, duration and intensity of rainfall across the
coffee, grains and livestock to intensive horticultural country, while the frequency and intensity of the extreme
production especially under greenhouse conditions. weather events such as drought and floods are on the rise,
These farms account for over 80 percent of the with devastating impacts on the national economy and the
exported horticultural produce. livelihoods of the people. Drastic and innovative measures
• Pastoralism: This is the main production system in are needed to help farmers adjust to these changes in
the arid and semi-arid lands of the country. Farmers emerging and projected weather patterns. In addition,
rear cattle, goats, sheep and camels, among other agriculture is the largest source of GHG emissions in the
livestock. They experience droughts, water shortages country and is responsible for approximately one-third
and high livestock mortality on account of rain failure of Kenya’s total GHG emissions, with livestock methane
in approximately three out of five years. emissions and land-use change being the main emitters
• Irrigation farming: Production under irrigation within the sector. Figure 5 indicates the major GHG
is a relatively limited system used only in a few emissions sources within the agriculture sector in Kenya13.
areas. It is developed mainly in the form of schemes As can be seen, the largest proportion of emissions
and large-scale irrigation of crops like rice, coffee, results from enteric fermentation followed by manure
flowers, pineapples and other horticultural crops. left on pasture, both of which are related to livestock

Crop residues 1%

Figure 5: GHG emissions in Kenyan agriculture in 2012 (FAOSTAT, 2015)
13 FAOSTAT, 2015

production. In addition, it is estimated that agricultural and a number of NGOs, UN agencies and CGIAR
GHG emissions in the country are expected to rise from centres such as ICRAF. In recent years conservation
20 MtCO2e in 2010 to 27 MtCO2e in 2030. Forestry, on agriculture with trees (CAWT) has also emerged
the other hand, accounted for GHG emissions of 19.6 as a key CSA practice being scaled up across the
MtCO2e in 2010, approximately 32 percent of national country. The incorporation of trees and shrubs
emissions. This was mostly on account of deforestation into farms and rangelands has the potential to
for fuelwood, charcoal production and clearing of land provide added benefits to conservation agriculture,
for agriculture. which include maintaining vegetative soil cover,
faster nutrient cycling and nitrogen fixation, weed
5.2 CSA Technologies and Practices: Adoption suppression, enhancing soil structure, supporting
and Implementation carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation
as well as providing food, fuel, fibre and income from
Common climate-smart agriculture practices in Kenya tree products. The government target is to achieve
include conservation agriculture, agroforestry (also called 10 percent tree cover on all farmland. Many climate-
“conservation agriculture with trees” and “evergreen smart agricultural practices that reduce climate
agriculture”), greenhouse farming, biogas production, vulnerability also reduce emissions and improve
beekeeping, integrated aquaculture systems and integrated agricultural production potential. Agroforestry
soil fertility management. has been estimated to have the potential to abate
4.2 Mt CO2e by 2030, while offering climate-resilience
• Conservation agriculture: Conservation agriculture benefits of improved soil quality, improved water
is an approach to farming that can sustainably increase retention in the soil, reduced erosion and perennials
yields from cereal, legume, fodder and cash crops. that are better able to withstand climatic changes.
The various practices that constitute this approach
follow key principles that aim to conserve the soil, rain
water and soil nutrients, and stabilize land production “The incorporation of trees and shrubs into
while reducing production costs. Kenya is a leader
farms and rangelands has the potential
in conservation agriculture in Eastern Africa and
has managed to increase the amount of land under
to provide added benefits to conservation
conservation agriculture from 15 000 hectares in agriculture which include maintaining
2009 to 33 000 hectares in 2012, with the figure vegetative soil cover, faster nutrient cycling
steadily increasing each year. Conservation agriculture and nitrogen fixation, weed suppression,
principles promoted in Kenya include minimal soil enhancing soil structure, supporting
disturbance; crop rotation and associations; and crop carbon sequestration and biodiversity
residue management/mulching. The country is also
conservation as well as providing food,
host to large conservation agriculture equipment
manufacturers and importers such as Ndume fuel, fibre and income from tree products.”
Limited, an agricultural implements and machinery
manufacturing company that is based in Gilgil.
However, on the whole, uptake is still low compared
with Southern African countries. Key stakeholders
in the promotion of conservation agriculture include
the FAO, Conservation Agriculture with Trees Task
Force and African Conservation Tillage Network
(ACT).
• Agroforestry: Agroforestry projects are being

implemented by a number of organizations such as
©FAO/Ami Vitale
the Ministry of Environment and National Resources

(MENR), Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and
Fisheries, Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI)
14 Conservation agriculture as practised in Kenya: two case studies in Laikipia and Siaya districts

• Livelihood diversification: This encompasses
©FAO/Olivier Asselin
agricultural practices such as beekeeping and honey
production and awareness campaigns regarding the
importance of balancing stocking rates within the
available land resources as a way of ensuring sustainable
livelihoods. Other livelihood diversification activities
promoted include integrated aquaculture as well as
rearing of diversified poultry such as quails, guinea
fowls and ostriches; fruit production; and fodder and
hay production for livestock feeds. Practices such
as beekeeping can be combined with community
forestry, thus bringing added economic benefits to
forest conservation. Aquaculture can be practised as
a means to improve income and enhance resilience of
livelihoods to weather variability and climate change.
At the same time, aquaculture ponds can be part of an
integrated farming system whereby animal manure
can be used to fertilize the ponds while the slurry
produced from the ponds can be used as organic

fertilizer in nearby crop fields.
• Integrated soil fertility management: A number of

methods to improve soil fertility management are
practised in Kenya with the aim of improving land
productivity, reduce production costs and conserve
water. Specific practices include compost production
and manure management.
• Biogas and biomass fuel production: Biogas has been

promoted as a means of managing manure from which
a large amount of GHG emissions emanate, as well
as for domestic energy production. Biogas projects
in Kenya are being implemented by a number of
research and development organizations such as GIZ,
SNV and the Kenya National Farmers Federation. To
make the most out of biogas systems there may be a
need to combine them with sustainable intensification
of livestock as well as animal confinement to ensure
efficient collection of manure. At the same time,
biogas slurry can be used as organic fertilizer to
manage soil fertility. Most biogas systems are small-
scale and utilized for domestic lighting and cooking
by households connected to the biogas digester.
• Small-scale water harvesting: This includes big

concrete structures as well as small dams with linings
for water harvesting which are being constructed in the
arid and semi-arid areas of the country in particular.
Water-harvesting structures can be utilized for crop
and livestock production as well as for aquaculture.
Types of water-harvesting techniques promoted
include zai pits, shallow retention ditches, road

runoff harvesting, rock catchment harvesting, roof management involves managing livestock nutrition
rainwater harvesting, ponds, dams and water pans. so as to ensure that feed is broken down as efficiently
Some practices such as zai pits require little financial as possible and with minimal production of methane
investment and support direct water retention in gas. Rotational grazing is one simple strategy that is
the field. Others such as roof rainwater harvesting promoted that allows for maintenance of forages at
structures and ponds require greater financial a relatively higher growth stage. This enhances the
investment. Water harvesting can be combined with quality and digestibility of the forage, improves the
low-cost drip irrigation technologies to provide productivity of the system and reduces CH4 emissions
even further benefits in terms of water and soil per unit of live weight gain (LWG). Improving animal
conservation. breeds through selective breeding (cross breeding,
introduction of more suitable breeds and use of
• Greenhouse farming: Greenhouse farming indigenous breeds) is also practised with the aim
enables the farmer to improve crop production by of improving productivity as well as resilience to
regulating and optimizing the plant environment. environmental conditions, including climate.
The greenhouse can also protect crops from outside
weather conditions. Greenhouse farming can support
resilience to external weather and climate while “Dairy herd management involves
improving crop productivity and increasing income
managing livestock nutrition so as to
and profit.
ensure that feed is broken down as
• Dairy herd management: Dairy herd management efficiently as possible and with minimal
can result in improved milk productivity, improved production of methane gas.”
efficiency and reduced emissions intensity. Dairy herd
©FAO

5.3 CSA Stakeholders, Programmes and Projects increase agricultural productivity for small-scale
in Kenya farmers with one hectare of land through provision
of basic farm inputs and mobilization of farmers’
There are a number of CSA-related research and resources for re-investment in agriculture. NAAIAP
development projects in the country that are being promoted the use of fertilizers and quality seeds among
implemented by different stakeholders. food-deficit farmers. Each farmer received 50 kg of
planting fertilizer, 50 kg of top dressing fertilizer
5.3.1 Government Programmes and 10 kg of hybrid seed. Farmers were expected to
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries obtain high yields and therefore open up more land
(MALF): The Ministry has a number of CSA-related for crop production. Other farmers under the same
projects which include the following: programme received improved planting cassava and
sweet potato cuttings. In the case of fisheries, the
• Adaptation to Climate Change and Insurance farmers received assistance in the development and
(ACCI) Project: This has been cited as the first project stocking of fishponds and purchase of feeds for the
in the country to address climate-smart agriculture. fish. Under the NAAIAP and fisheries programme,
Through climate modelling and crop simulation, farmers also gained access to credit through local
adaptation and mitigation options were identified banks with funding leveraged by government.
and piloted in western Kenya over a period of
3.5 years from 2011 to 2014. Some of the CSA practices
implemented included drought-tolerant traditional “One of the water-harvesting technologies
crops/varieties; weather insurance for high-risk
is the construction of water pans/earth
crops; conservation agriculture; agroforestry, on-
dams which are excavated for
farm crop diversification; and integrated soil fertility
management. community use in agricultural production
and raising of tree seedlings for
• Njaa Marufuku Kenya (NMK), 2008-2013: In this environmental conservation.”
project, grants were given to different groups of youth,
women and men in schools and community-based
organizations (CBOs) to undertake activities geared • Water harvesting for food security (WHFFS): This
towards ensuring food security. During the period project promotes rainwater harvesting to ensure that
2008-2013, 3 578 farmer groups, 64 schools and water is available for irrigation and livestock use,
96 CBOs benefited from the grants. particularly in the ASALs. One of the water-harvesting
technologies is the construction of water pans/earth
• National Accelerated Agricultural Input Access dams which are excavated for community use in
Programme (NAAIAP, 2007-2012): NAAIAP was a agricultural production and raising of tree seedlings
government response to the 2006 Fertilizer Conference for environmental conservation. From 2008 to 2013,
held in Abuja, Nigeria. Initiated in 2007 for a period a total of 143 400 farm families benefited.
of five years, the programme was fully funded by GOK
and had two components – Kilimo Plus and Kilimo • Traditional High Value Crops (THVC): This project
Biashara, covering over 150 districts. Farmers would included enhanced financial and technical support
begin with a starter pack (Kilimo Plus) and later for the Orphaned Crops Programme. Under these
graduate to Kilimo Biashara. Altogether 500 000 input programmes certified seeds for drought-tolerant
vouchers were issued to over 100 districts (100 percent traditional crops were distributed to farmers for
subsidy). Kilimo Biashara was supported through the bulking. During the five-year period (from 2007/8 to
Agriculture Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS) by four 2012/13), a total of over 1.6 million farmers benefited
banks – Equity Bank, Family Bank, Cooperative and from these high-value seeds. In addition, promotion
KWFT Banks for a total of KES500 million to offer of agricultural produce postharvest processing, storage
affordable loans to farmers with a 12 percent interest and value-addition was conducted, for which the
rate. The goal was to reach 2.5 million resource- Government put up grain stores and provided mobile
poor small-scale farmers through the promotion, grain driers in the grain-producing areas of the
access and use of improved farm inputs in order to country. In total, 13 grain storage structures have

been constructed across the 47 counties under this • Kenya Adaptation to Climate Change in Arid and
programme – Kirinyaga, Embu, Makueni, Tharaka Semi-Arid Lands (KACCAL) Project: This is a World
Nithi (2), Meru, Uasin Gishu (2), Trans Nzoia, Nandi, Bank-designed project aimed at improving the ability
Narok and Kakamega (2). In terms of the above- of participating sub-counties and communities in
mentioned interventions, around 2 397 980 farmers the arid and semi-arid lands to plan and implement
were covered by the four programmes of NMK, climate change adaptation measures.
NAAIAP, WHFFS and THVC during the last five
years (2007/8 to 2012/13). • Kenya Agricultural Carbon Market Programme
(KACMP): This programme is being implemented
• Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) Project in in Western Kenya and parts of the Rift Valley
Northern Kenya: This project is being implemented with assistance from the World Bank. It is aimed
in collaboration with a number of commercial at facilitating farmers to adopt sustainable land-
partners, which include the Equity Bank of Kenya, management practices to abate carbon emissions
UAP Insurance and Swiss-Re (Swiss Reinsurance). while practising agriculture.
The project provides livestock insurance to over 2 000
households in Marsabit Sub-county to help livestock • Strengthening Capacity for Climate Change
herders sustain their livestock-dependent livelihoods Adaptation in Land and Water Management Project:
during incidences of drought. The programme uses Implemented by KARI and covering approximately
satellite imagery to determine and predict potential 12 000 households, the project is funded by the
loss of livestock forage and issues insurance pay-outs Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA)
to participating members when incidences of drought and the Kenyan government. The objective is to
occur. Being a first-of-its-kind initiative in Africa, reduce the impact of climate change and variability
the project is said to hold enormous potential for on smallholder agriculture through sustainable land
benefiting livestock keepers in the region and across and water management technologies and contribute
the continent. The impact of this pilot project is to the improvement of food security and ecosystem
currently under assessment to determine its benefits resilience in the selected watersheds and sub-counties
before it can be scaled up to other sub-counties in of Kenya. The project promotes strategic livelihood
the country. practices that will enhance carbon storage, ecosystem
resilience and sustainable livelihood options.

• Agricultural Productivity and Climatic Change in • Economic Stimulus Fisheries Project: The project
the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands of Ijara, Trans Mara is aimed at increasing fish production among
and Tana Delta Project: This is a research project smallholder fishers by assisting the farmers – and
funded by the International Development Research especially youths and school-going children – to
Consortium (IDRC) and the Government of Kenya. The develop fish ponds, harvest water from runoffs or
project is implemented by KARI in partnership with rivers and then provide them with fingerlings and
the Kenya National Farmers Federation (KENAFF), feeds. The government produces the fingerling stocks
Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD), Moi from fisheries research centres, while the private sector
University, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock provides the feeds. The producers receive training on
and Fisheries and the Ministry of Environment and fish production, consumption and marketing. This
Natural Resources. The objectives are to: has resulted in increases in fish on the market, even
- assess and document climatic risks and in non-traditional fishing areas like the central and
vulnerabilities of the communities and agrosystems eastern parts of the country. Funds for this project
and establish coping strategies in the project area; are availed through the Economic Stimulus Program
- identify and pilot-test innovations/options/ and the Youth Enterprise Fund. It serves as a good
strategies that would work best through example of a public-private partnership programme.
participatory approaches;
- develop information-sharing initiatives on climate • Conservation Agriculture – Sustainable Agriculture
change and variability and best-bet adaptation for Rural Development (CA-SARD) Project: The
strategies; project, funded by the German Ministry of Agriculture
- build capacity of KARI scientists and stakeholders and FAO, introduced conservation agriculture into
to address the challenges of climate change and the country on a pilot basis in 2004. Its development
variability; and objective was to improve food security and rural
- inform and influence the climate change adaptation livelihoods of small-scale and medium-scale farmers
policy/decision-making process through scientific in Kenya (and Tanzania) by promoting conservation
action and research-based results. agriculture. In Kenya, the project was piloted in five
districts (Mbeere, Laikipia, Nakuru, Bungoma and
• Green houses pilot project under the Comprehensive Siaya) in two phases. The CA-SARD project advanced
Africa Agriculture Development Programme conservation agriculture interventions and made
(CAADP): The programme was launched by the New enormous progress, specifically by adopting farmer
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The field school (FFS) methods, training support staff and
pilot activities are implemented in Kwale, Kakamega farmers , bringing in advanced conservation agriculture
and Trans Nzoia counties, supported by the COMESA equipment and forging links with the private sector.15
Climate Change Initiative.
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
(MENR) has been the designated Ministry responsible
for national climate change issues in Kenya. The Ministry
©FAO/Roberto Faidutti
hosts the Climate Change Unit. MENR activities have

included leading the development of the National Climate
Change Policy Framework for Kenya as well as the
piloting of NAPAs in selected agro-ecological regions
of the country. Other projects include the following:
• Natural Resource Management Programme: This

programme will support the realization of Vision
2030 in general and, specifically, in the areas of
environmental planning and governance, with the
assumption that an enabling policy and regulatory
framework for environmental and natural resource
management, including climate change, is developed
and implemented with a poverty orientation.
15 Conservation agriculture as practised in case studies of Kenya’s Laikipia and Siaya Districts.

• National Environmental Education and Awareness 5.3.2 Development Agencies and
Initiative: The aim is to educate and raise awareness Non‑Governmental Organizations
of environmental challenges among all Kenyans and African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT): The core
to encourage the participation of all stakeholders in mandate of ACT is the mainstreaming of conservation
environmental conservation and management. This agriculture through stakeholder engagement. ACT
includes education on issues such as deforestation is implementing a number of CSA and conservation
and climate change. agriculture projects not only in Kenya, but across Africa.
In Kenya some of the main projects being implemented
• Kenya Water Security and Climate Resilience include the following:
Project: This $155 million project funded by the
World Bank aims to achieve water security and climate • Agro-Ecology-Based Aggradation-Conservation
resilience for economic growth and development. Agriculture (ABACO) Project: The project is targeting
The project has two main objectives – to increase the establishment of site-specific innovations that rely
availability and productivity of irrigation water for on site-specific agro-ecology and aggradation measures
project beneficiaries; and to enhance the institutional to restore soil productivity in order to improve food
framework and strengthen capacity for water security in semi-arid Africa. This project is targeting
security and climate resilience for the country. While local research and extension institutions designing
investments in water are required for economic growth or promoting conservation agriculture in semi-arid
and development, water infrastructure in the form of regions of Africa, including Kenya. ABACO principles
large dams will act as a buffer against the most severe are rehabilitation of degraded soils, increased water
hydrological shocks (including floods and droughts), productivity, intensifying agro-ecological functions,
as well as address food insecurity and low agricultural innovation support systems and institutionalizing of
productivity. enabling policies and market conditions.
©FAO/Simon Maina

• Upscaling Conservation Agriculture for Increased applications for the reduction of climate-related risks in
Resilience to Climate Change and Improved Food the Greater Horn of Africa. ICPAC’s main objective is to
Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (CA4CCFS contribute to climate monitoring and prediction services
–ESA): This project is conducted in collaboration with for early warning and mitigation of the adverse impacts
NORAD with the aim of strengthening resilience to of extreme climate events on various socioeconomic
climate change, thereby contributing to increased sectors in the region, such as agricultural production and
food security among rural communities of Eastern food security, water resources, energy and health. The
and Southern Africa. early-warning products enable users to put mechanisms
in place for coping with climate- and weather-related
International Fund for Agricultural Development risks in the Greater Horn of Africa.
(IFAD): IFAD has implemented a number of CSA-
related programmes in Kenya since the beginning of
2015. These include: “ICPAC’s main objective is to contribute to
• Kenya Cereals Enhancement Programme (KCEP): climate monitoring and prediction services
KCEP has been implemented by the MALF with
for early warning and mitigation of the
funding from the EU and supervision by IFAD. The
programme will run for seven years (2015‑2021)
adverse impacts of extreme climate events on
covering eight counties, with the objective of various socioeconomic sectors in the region,
contributing to national food security by increasing such as agricultural production and food
the production of targeted cereal staples (maize, security, water resources, energy and health.”
sorghum, millet and pulses), and thereby increasing
the incomes of smallholder farmers in the production
areas. The Centre also promotes capacity-building for both
• Kenya Climate Resilient Agricultural Livelihoods climate scientists and users. ICPAC provides regular
Programme (KCALP): The programme will run regional climate advisories, including 10-day, monthly
from 2015 until 2022 with the aim of increasing the and seasonal climate bulletins as well as timely early-
resilience of smallholder agricultural livelihoods in warning information on evolving climate extremes and
the ASALs. The programme will be run in partnership associated impacts.16 At present, some key projects being
with the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications implemented by IGAD ICPAC and its partner institutions
Centre (ICPAC), the EU and FAO. include the following:
• UNDP-IGAD is aimed at strengthening the capacity
IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre of IGAD in building resilience in the Horn of Africa,
(ICPAC): The Greater Horn of Africa, like many parts which involves development of an integrated early-
of the tropics, is prone to extreme climate events such warning system that links livestock, rangelands, food
as droughts and floods. In an effort to minimize the security and DRR into one;
negative impacts of extreme climate events, the World • Planning for Resilience in East Africa through Policy,
Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Adaptation, Research and Economic Development
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) established (PREPARED), which is aimed at mainstreaming
the regional Drought Monitoring Centre (DMC) in climate-resilient development planning and
Nairobi and a sub-centre in Harare in 1989, covering 24 programme implementation into the East African
countries in the eastern and southern African sub-region. Community (EAC) and its Partner States’ development
In 2003, DMC Nairobi became a specialized institution agenda.
of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development
(IGAD) and was renamed the IGAD Climate Prediction World Vision Kenya (WVK): WVK is implementing
and Applications Centre (ICPAC). The participating a project on Adapting to Climate Change in Arid and
countries of ICPAC are Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Semi-Arid Lands (KACCAL) in Kenya. This project
Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and supports poor and vulnerable communities in the Mwingi
the United Republic of Tanzania. The Centre is responsible District of the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) of
for climate monitoring, prediction, early warning and Kenya to enhance their adaptive capacity to drought (and
16 Drought Monitoring and Early Warning: ‘concepts, progress and future challenges’ (WMO – No. 1006)

©FAO/Christena Dowsett
floods). This is being achieved through enhanced access in Garissa County in 2011. Based on this analysis,
to and management of water for irrigation; promotion of the project explores the impacts of climate change on
indigenous crops that are more resilient to anticipated livelihoods in pastoral and agropastoral households,
climate change (and improved access to markets for these using the villages of Shant’abaq and Kone to illustrate the
crops); promotion of livestock varieties that are more realities of climate change in vulnerable communities.
suited to the climate; and development and promotion of It also aims to highlight the existing adaptive capacity
alternative livelihood opportunities (such as beekeeping within these communities and the issues that constrain
activities). The project is also strengthening climate risk people’s ability to put this capacity into action. The
management planning and the capacity of district-level programme is also engaging with county-level government
planners to mainstream climate change into district-level stakeholders and civil society organizations active in the
sectoral development plans. The project was initiated area. CARE Kenya has moreover conducted studies on the
jointly by the United Nations Development Program measurement of GHG emissions with the aim of proving
(UNDP) and the World Bank. The UNDP component that agricultural GHG emissions can be reduced while
focuses primarily on enhancing the adaptive capacity of still improving agricultural productivity, food security,
key stakeholders in the district of Mwingi, complementing incomes and livelihoods. Similar work has been done by
the support given by the World Bank in four other districts CCAFS, FAO, ICRAF and Vi Agroforestry, among others.
of Garissa, Turkana, Marsabit and Malindi. The partners
involved are GEF, World Vision Kenya and the Ministry
of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. “Adaptive capacity to drought (and floods)
is being achieved through enhanced
Care Kenya: Care Kenya is implementing the Climate
Change Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity project
access to and management of water for
in Garissa County within the framework of the Kenya irrigation; promotion of indigenous crops
Adaptation Learning Programme (ALP). The Adaptation that are more resilient to anticipated
Learning Programme for Africa is working to increase climate change; promotion of livestock
the capacity of vulnerable households in Garissa County varieties that are more suited to the
to adapt to climate change and variability. As part of its climate; and development and promotion
community-based adaptation process, ALP conducted
of alternative livelihood opportunities.”
participatory research and analysis on climate change
vulnerability and adaptive capacity with six communities

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United aimed at providing quantifiable evidence that climate-
Nations (FAO): FAO Kenya has been implementing a smart agricultural practices can mitigate climate
number of food security and resilience related projects change, improve farmers’ lives and improve the
across the country. In addition, along with providing capacity of local communities to adapt to climate
general support to the upscaling of conservation change. The assessment conducted with the EX-
agriculture and conservation agriculture with trees ACT tool demonstrates the mitigation potential of
through the Kenya Conservation Agriculture with Trees the EADD-MICCA project based on identified CSA
Task Force, FAO has been implementing a number of practices. It was found that adopting better feeding
CSA or CSA-related projects in recent years, which and breeding practices, developing agroforestry and
include the following: improving the quality of pasturelands can lead to the
• Climate-Smart Natural Resources Management storage of 663 689 MT CO2e in a period of 20 years,
Project: This project is being implemented in which is equivalent to 4 MT CO2e/ha/yr. Training and
partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, demonstrations to facilitate upscaling and adoption of
Livestock and Fisheries and with funding from the identified activities were also organized. A volunteer
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The farmer-trainer approach for scaling-up CSA was used
main objective of the project is to build the capacity in the project.
of the Ministry in climate change adaptation and
mitigation technologies through the development of
training materials and dissemination of information. “The major outcome has been the
The major outcome has been the development of a
comprehensive climate-smart agriculture manual
development of a comprehensive climate-
with illustrations of a set of agricultural technologies smart agriculture manual with illustrations
targeting smallholder farmers as well as ward- of a set of agricultural technologies.”
level agricultural extension agents in supporting
climate-smart practices in the counties. The manual
focuses on key CSA practices such as conservation • Supporting Developing Countries to Integrate
agriculture, integrated soil fertility management the Agricultural Sectors into National Adaptation
(ISFM), water harvesting, greenhouse farming, herd Plans (NAPs): This is part of an FAO-UNDP project
management, biogas production and beekeeping. It to support eight developing countries to integrate
is well illustrated, with easy step-by-step instructions agriculture into National Adaptation Plans. The
that focus on what to do, how to do it and why. Other project is an extension of FAO’s and UNDP’s
countries in eastern Africa could use the manual as an work being conducted through the NAP Global
example of what can be done in their own countries Support Programme and will allow FAO to bring
to support knowledge on key CSA practices. in its extensive work-based experience through
• The Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture the Framework Programme for Climate Change
(MICCA17) project: Launched in 2010, this project Adaptation (FAO-Adapt) to assist countries with their
aims to make agriculture more climate-smart by respective agriculture sectors in the NAP processes.
supporting developing countries in their efforts to The project is funded through the International
mitigate climate change in agriculture. The programme Climate Initiative (ICI). This project builds directly
focuses on the gradual transformation of agricultural onto the country’s first National Adaptation Planning
productivity through implementation of climate-smart Meeting for the Agricultural Sector held in September
agricultural policies and practices. The objective is to 2013, which discussed food production challenges
develop a selection of CSA practices for smallholder and opportunities presented by climate change. The
farmers based on participation and consultation project adds value to the Knowledge and Capacity-
at multiple levels. The pilot site in Kenya is being Building Working Group, and intends to help Kenya
implemented within the framework of the East Africa move forward in operationalizing the NCCRS, which
Dairy Development Project (EADD), a regional dairy aims to integrate climate change strategies into its
development programme led by Heifer International vision of transforming into an emerging economy.
17 http://www.fao.org/climatechange/micca/en/
18 http://www.viagroforestry.org

Box 2: FAO MICCA Project in Kenya
Each of MICCA’s pilot projects is a collaborative effort carried out in partnership with national and international
partners within the framework of larger agricultural development projects. In Kenya, the MICCA pilot project
team worked with smallholder dairy producers in the Rift Valley. The pilot project was undertaken within the
framework of the East Africa Dairy Development Project (EADD) being implemented in Kenya, Rwanda and
Uganda. In this pilot project, the MICCA Programme, in close collaboration with ICRAF and smallholder
dairy producers, used a life-cycle analysis and other approaches to propose and test technical alternatives for
reducing the climate change ‘footprint’ of the dairy industry. As part of its work to support farmers in raising
climate-smart cattle and to improve the overall greenhouse gas balance of the farming systems, the project
looked at ways of enhancing fodder production, improving manure and livestock management systems to
produce fertilizer and biogas, and lessening the GHG emissions from the whole farm systems.
Dissemination of CSA practices and knowledge in the pilot site applied an innovative farmer-led extension
approach that relied on volunteer farmer trainers. Farmer trainers hosted demonstration plots used to train
other farmers on CSA practices. The main CSA practices demonstrated included:
• improved fodder production (Napier grass, Rhodes grass, Brachiaria grass, Columbus grass, forage
sorghums, desmodium, dolichos lab and lucerne (alfalfa);
• agroforestry and fodder trees (Calliandra, Leucaena trichandra, tree lucerne, Sesbania sesban, Grevillea
and Croton);
• tree nursery establishment and management for both fodder shrubs and agroforestry trees;
• better manure management through composting and biogas generation; and
• feed conservation by baling hay and making silage.
During the implementation period of three years, 23 volunteer farmer trainers directly reached about 1 500
farmers belonging to 32 farmer groups. These farmer groups were formed as the main training units while
volunteer farmer trainers for each group were selected through the Kapcheno Dairy. In addition, with the
technical support of the MICCA pilot project, 32 group tree nurseries were established with 90 000 seedlings
and two biogas digesters were constructed.
Source: FAO Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture Project

http://www.fao.org/climatechange/micca/87066/en/
©FAO/Christena Dowsett

Vi Agroforestry (Vi-skogen): Vi Agroforestry18 is a
Swedish development cooperation organization fighting
poverty and improving the environment through tree
planting, with a focus on the Lake Victoria Basin in
East Africa. The foundation of Vi Agroforestry’s work is
sustainable agriculture and agroforestry – growing trees
alongside crops and livestock. In Kenya, Vi Agroforestry
is implementing the Agriculture Carbon Project (KACP)
funded by the World Bank. The project has developed
a method to estimate the climate benefits of sustainable
agriculture land management practices (SALM). This is
done by measuring sustainable agriculture potential for
carbon storage, especially in the soils. The method was
developed to be suitable for smallholder farmers who
farm on degraded soils. In 2011, the method of sustainable
agriculture land management was approved by one of
the most well-known standards in the voluntary carbon
market, the Verified Carbon Standard. The project was International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre
the first carbon project in Africa for land and agriculture. (CIMMYT): CIMMYT has been implementing the
Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping
5.3.3 Research and Academic Institutions Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern
Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation Africa (SIMLESA) project. CIMMYT is also undertaking,
(KALRO formerly KARI): KALRO has been undertaking or is involved in, a number of other projects with a
numerous research projects that address CSA in one way CSA component, which include the Conservation
or another, but very few of them specifically address Agriculture and Smallholder Farmers in Eastern and
the topic of CSA in totality. KALRO has conducted Southern Africa (CASFESA) funded by EU-IFAD; the
research and demonstrated drip irrigation, integrated soil Farm Mechanization and Conservation Agriculture for
fertility management, drought-resistant and short-season Sustainable Intensification (FACASI) project; and the
varieties, improved livestock, multipurpose legumes Adoption Pathways Programme.
and water harvesting, among others. KALRO has also
partnered with international research organizations such World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF): ICRAF is one
as the CGIAR institutes, with which it has undertaken of the 15 centres of the CGIAR Consortium and has its
CSA pilot projects such as the climate-smart agriculture headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. ICRAF is promoting
villages being piloted in Makueni, Kenya. Other projects conservation agriculture with trees in Kenya and other
include FACASI and SIMLESA, in which it is partnering eastern African countries. ICRAF stresses the importance
with organizations such as CIMMYT. Other projects it of growing trees and shrubs on farms and in rural
has been involved in include Drought Tolerant Maize areas, combined with crops and livestock to create
for Africa (DTMA); Developing promising strategies profitable, productive, healthy and sustainable landscapes.
using ‘climate change analogue locations’ in eastern and Over three billion people worldwide use fuelwood and
southern Africa (CALESA) Project; and the Western other solids for cooking, boiling water, light and heat.
Kenya Rain-fed Rice Project – Adaptability of New Rice Planting the right trees provides easy access to fuel
for Africa (NERICA). and reduces pressure on forests. In Kenya, along with
training in agroforestry, ICRAF is supporting research
on agroforestry-related issues, including those relating to
climate change adaptation and mitigation such as REDD+.
“KALRO has conducted research and
demonstrated drip irrigation, integrated
CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change,
soil fertility management, drought- Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS): CCAFS
resistant and short-season varieties, seeks to overcome the threats to agriculture and food
improved livestock, multipurpose legumes security in a changing climate, exploring new ways of
and water harvesting, among others.” helping vulnerable rural communities adjust to global
changes in climate. Climate-smart agriculture is one of

the flagship programmes of CCAFS and the focus here policy challenge in the country and the Government of
is on how to transition to climate-smart agriculture at Kenya has in recent years developed a number of policies
a large scale. CCAFS has been supporting a number of and strategies related to agricultural development and
CSA initiatives in Kenya. These include the establishment climate change adaptation and mitigation. Some of these
and piloting of climate-smart villages in Western Kenya. policies and strategies include the Strategy for Revitalizing
As part of these climate-smart villages, CCAFS has also Agriculture (SRA, 2004-2015); Kenya Vision 2030;
piloted the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions and Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS, 2010-
carbon sequestration from different practices, supported 2020) as well as the National Climate Change Response
adoption of drought-tolerant crop and livestock varieties, Strategy (2010) and National Climate Change Action
and supported access to climate information and decision- Plan (2013). The ASDS 2015-2020 is a revised strategy
support tools for farmers. for revitalizing agriculture that incorporates Kenya’s
Vision 2030 objectives. Most recently the Government
5.3.4 Private Sector of Kenya has launched the National Climate-Smart
East African Farmers Federation (EAFF): EAFF is Agriculture Programme to be jointly implemented by
implementing the Strengthening the Capacity of Farmer the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and
Organizations in Climate-Smart Agriculture Approaches the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. The
project. The project is being undertaken in four countries Programme outlines six strategic priorities as sources
in Eastern Africa, including Kenya and Uganda, through of Kenya’s agricultural development and growth in a
EAFF member organizations in these countries. The changing climate.
membership of these organizations are different forms of
farmer groups including co-operative societies, district Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS, 2010-
farmer associations, women organizations, commodity 2020): The ASDS sets out a detailed plan to “position
associations or community-based organizations. Through the agricultural sector as a key driver for delivering
the relevant structures, EAFF intends to reach over 7 000 the 10 percent annual economic growth rate envisaged
individual small-scale farmers directly through the project under the economic pillar of Vision 2030”. The strategy
activities. These activities include capacity building on outlines agricultural policy goals and provides guidance
appropriate CSA practices for different agro-ecologies as to the public and private sectors’ efforts in overcoming
well as development of guidelines on implementation of the outstanding challenges facing Kenya’s agricultural
different CSA practices. sector19. The strategy has included climate adaptation
as a priority for the country.
Ndume Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers: While
not directly involved in the promotion of climate-smart Agricultural Sector Medium-Term Investment Plan
agriculture in Kenya, Ndume has supported the import (MTIP, 2010-15): This is the medium-term framework
and local manufacture of various types of machinery for investments in growth and food security through
for conservation agriculture. These include direct increased agricultural productivity and trade and is fully
seeders (no-till planters) and rippers. A number of aligned with the ASDS and CAADP. The aim, just like
other companies are involved in the import and/or that of the ASDS, is to achieve enhanced productivity in
manufacture of equipment for CSA-related practices key subsectors through targeted investments. The MTIP
such as conservation agriculture, greenhouse agriculture has six pillars:
and irrigation. • Increasing productivity, commercialization and
competitiveness
5.4 Key Policies and Institutions Relevant to CSA • Promoting private sector participation
in Kenya • Promoting sustainable land and natural resource
management
Kenya was among the first non-least developed countries • Reforming delivery of agricultural services
(LDCs) in Africa to develop government plans for • Increasing market access and trade
responses to climate change across key economic sectors. • Ensuring effective coordination and implementation
Climate change has acquired the status of a key national
19 Kenya’s Agricultural Sector Reforms 2013, Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report

The MTIP considers major climate-related issues including National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP)
early-warning systems and climate change adaptation (2013-2017): This was developed through a consultative
measures while differentiating investments according process that engaged stakeholders across government, the
to high rainfall, semi-arid and dry areas. private sector and civil society. Agriculture is a key part
of the NCCRS, reflecting the National economy’s reliance
The Constitution of Kenya (2010): The Constitution on agriculture as well as the vulnerability of the sector.
promotes sustainable approaches to natural resource
management and establishes the right to food security CAADP Compact: The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture
and to live in a clean and healthy environment, while Development Programme has been endorsed by the
emphasizing sustainable and productive management African Heads of State and Government as a framework
of land resources (e.g. maintenance of tree cover in for restoration of agriculture growth, food security and
10 percent of the country’s land area). It introduces two rural development in Africa. CAADP incorporates CSA
levels of government with specific functions for each level, through the sustainable intensification and resilience of
thus providing guidance on climate change response and production systems and the reduction of greenhouse gas
CSA implementation. emissions caused by agriculture. Kenya’s CAADP Compact
commits the government to implementing the common
Kenya Vision 2030 Blueprint: This represents the vision of the sector, as described in the Agricultural Sector
country’s development blueprint for 2008-2030, identifying Development Strategy (ASDS), to address the agricultural
agriculture as a key sector to boost economic growth development agenda in the country.
rates. It aims to transform smallholder agriculture from
low-productivity subsistence activities to an innovative,
competitive agricultural sector. Operationalized in a “Kenya has already established itself as
series of five-year Medium-Term Plans (MTP), the
a leader in agricultural mitigation by
current MTP (2013 to 2017) being the second one, puts
emphasis on devolution socio-economic development,
hosting a variety of innovative land-
equity and national unity. As part of Vision 2030, the based carbon projects, as well as biogas
Government of Kenya recognizes that emissions are likely development programmes.”
to increase as development progresses and that there is
need for mitigation actions to support the country to
transition to a low-carbon economy that supports Kenya’s Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs):
contribution to global GHG mitigation actions. Under the Low Emission Capacity Building (LECB)
Programme, financed by the EU, Germany and AusAID,
National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS) Kenya is receiving support to formulate Nationally
(2010): The strategy calls for accelerated investment Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), as well as
in weather information systems, research on drought- establishing the underlying data collection systems
tolerant crop varieties, soil and water conservation, water (i.e. national GHG inventory systems and monitoring,
harvesting and strengthening integrated pest-management reporting and verification systems). Kenya has identified
systems, among others. Kenya has already established conservation agriculture and agroforestry as two areas
itself as a leader in agricultural mitigation by hosting in the agriculture sector for development into NAMAs.
a variety of innovative land-based carbon projects, as These are currently under development.
well as biogas development programmes. The strategy
considers climate change as a crosscutting issue that will be National Irrigation Policy (2014): The focus is on
mainstreamed into the planning process, both at national expansion of the land under irrigation and includes issues
and county level and in all sectors of the economy. The around water harvesting and storage, use of waste water,
NCCRS recommends that climate change legislation exploitation of groundwater and promotion of sustainable
be enacted to support the mainstreaming of climate models for commercial irrigated farming.
change at national level. The Kenyan Climate Change
Bill passed in 2012 has resulted in the establishment of National Climate-Smart Agriculture Programme
the National Climate Change Authority as the entity that (2015-2030): The vision for the CSA Programme is a
would coordinate activities across sectors and guide the “climate-resilient and low carbon growth sustainable
implementation of the NCCRS. agriculture that ensures food security and contributes to
national development goals in line with Kenya’s Vision

2030”. The programme identifies four key objectives and curriculum; implementation of REDD+; vulnerability
six key result areas. The objectives are to: mapping; development of early-warning systems; value-
• contribute to increasing productivity and chain enhancement; and CSA awareness raising. The
commercialization of agriculture-related value chains programme also proposes the establishment of a national
with gender considerations; CSA Steering Committee chaired by the Permanent
• enhance efficiency and resilience of the social, Secretary in charge of climate change in the Ministry of
environmental and economic aspects of agriculture Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.
and food systems to climate change impacts;
• contribute to low carbon development through/by Draft National Forest Policy (2015): The overall goal of
lowering national emission intensity in agriculture this policy is the sustainable development, management,
and food systems; and utilization and conservation of forest resources and
• strengthen institutional coordination for effective equitable sharing of accrued benefits for present and
implementation of the climate-smart agriculture future generations of the people of Kenya. The policy
programme at national and county levels. includes an objective on “enhanced management of forest
resources for conservation of soil, water biodiversity and
Key result areas are improved productivity and incomes; environmental stability”.
building resilience and mitigation co-benefits; value
chain integration, research for development innovations; East African Community Climate Change Policy
improving and sustaining agricultural advisory services; (EACCCP): As part of the East African Community,
and improved institutional coordination. Some activities Kenya is subject to the East African Community Climate
planned within the programme include the promotion Change Policy (EACCCP). This policy emphasizes the
of improved crop and livestock varieties; irrigation need for an integrated, harmonized and multi-sectoral
development; food storage infrastructure; integrating framework for responding to climate change among
CSA into farmer field schools and the education EACs five member states, which also include Burundi,
©FAO/G. Tortoli

Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The policy is aimed at: development as a whole. This includes the United Nations
• strengthening meteorological services and improving Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
early-warning systems; the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the
• increasing preparedness for disaster risk management; United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
• scaling-up of efficient use of water and energy resources; (UNCCD). In June 2015, Kenya submitted its Intended
• irrigation; Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the
• crop and livestock production; UNFCCC. Kenya’s INDC represents the country’s targets
• protection of wildlife and key vulnerable ecosystems to contribute to global GHG mitigation efforts and
such as wetlands, coastal, marine and forestry represents a 30 percent emissions reduction target from
ecosystems; the business-as-usual scenario by 2030. The INDC
• improving land use, soil protection, tourism, includes plans to increase forest cover to 10 percent of the
infrastructure and human settlement; and national land area, improve sustainability of agriculture
• intensifying the control of diseases, vectors and pests. and reduce reliance on wood fuel. The INDC is also
conditional to international finance and technological
Mitigation measures prioritized in this policy include support. The INDC integrates components from Kenya’s
afforestation, reforestation, promotion of energy Climate-Smart Agriculture programme.
efficiency, efficient crop and livestock production systems,
efficient transport systems and waste management,
while capturing opportunities in emission reduction in “Mitigation measures prioritized
the region. The blueprint emphasizes that such actions
in the East African Community Climate
should not compromise the region’s social and economic
development. In order to implement this policy, each
Change Policy include afforestation,
partner state shall develop a national policy, strategies reforestation, promotion of energy
and institutional arrangements to operationalize the efficiency, efficient crop and livestock
provisions made in this policy. production systems, efficient transport
systems and waste management,
International climate change policy regime: Kenya is a while capturing opportunities in
signatory to a number of multilateral agreements related
emission reduction in the region.”
to climate change, land degradation and sustainable

Table 2: Summary of the key CSA-related policies in Kenya
Policy YearIntention or goal

Constitution of 2010In line with CSA principles, the Constitution promotes sustainable approaches to natural
Kenya resource management, establishes the right to food security and to live in a clean and
healthy environment, while emphasizing sustainable and productive management of land
resources (e.g. maintenance of tree cover in 10 percent of the country’s land area).
Kenya’s Economic 2008-2030 Represents the country’s development blueprint for 2008-2030, identifying agriculture as
Blueprint – Vision a key sector to boost economic growth. It aims to transform smallholder agriculture from
2030 low-productivity subsistence activities to an innovative, competitive agricultural sector.
Operationalized in a series of five-year Medium-Term Plans (MTP), the current MTP
(2013 to 2017) places emphasis on devolution, socio-economic development, equity and
national unity.
Agricultural Sector 2010 Provides a framework for transforming agriculture into a modern and commercially viable
Development sector. The current plan puts emphasis on addressing challenges of food and nutrition
Strategy (ASDS 2010 security, overdependence on rain-fed agriculture, youth unemployment, poverty reduction
– 2020) and high cost of inputs, among others. The strategy mentions climate change adaptation
as a priority for the country.
Agricultural Sector 2010-2015 The aim, like that of the ASDS, is to achieve enhanced productivity in key subsectors
Medium-Term through targeted investments. The MTIP considers major climate-related issues including
Investment Plan early-warning systems and climate change adaptation measures while differentiating
investments according to high rainfall, semi-arid and dry areas.
National Climate 2010 Adaptation measures suggested for agriculture in NCCRS include changes in land use,
Change Response restoration of degraded ecosystems, provision of downscaled weather information and
Strategy (NCCRS) farm inputs, water harvesting for irrigation, protection of natural resource base (soil and
water conservation techniques), research and dissemination of superior (drought-tolerant,
salt-tolerant, pest- and disease-resistant) crops.
National Climate 2013-2017 Within this framework, Kenya planned for a low-carbon Nationally Appropriate Mitigation
Change Action Plan Actions (NAMAs) pathway for energy, transport, industry, agriculture, forestry and waste
(NCCAP) management. Selected practices for mitigation in the NCCAP included restoration of forest
on degraded lands, REDD+, agroforestry, increase of tree cover to 10 percent of the total
land area and conservation tillage.
Sessional Paper №3 2009 Encourages sustainable intensification of land use in high-potential, densely populated
of 2009 on National areas, through the application of efficient methods, improvement of the condition and
Land Policy productivity of degraded lands, and through application of cost-effective irrigation methods.
Farm Forestry Rules 2009 Require farmers to establish and maintain farm forestry (i.e. woodlots) on at least 10 percent
of every agricultural land holding. Likewise, species of trees or varieties planted must not
have adverse effects on water sources, crops, livestock, soil fertility and the neighbourhood
and must not be of an invasive nature. Moreover, agriculture authorities at the district (now
county) level are required to identify land at risk of degradation and establish measures
necessary for ensuring its conservation, including the planting of trees.
Draft National 2014 The objectives of the policy are to expand land under irrigation; increase agricultural
Irrigation Policy water-harvesting and storage capacities; promote water-harvesting, use of waste water and
exploitation of groundwater for irrigation; build capacity for generation and utilization
of irrigation research, innovation and technology; and promote and adopt an integrated
approach to sustainable commercial irrigation farming.
National 2012 The policy aims to establish an integrated national agricultural research system that guides
Agricultural and supports the development of an innovative, commercially oriented and modern
Research System agricultural sector; design a novel funding mechanism for agricultural research that ensures
Policy adequacy, predictability and sustainability of research; and formulate a comprehensive
framework for partnership building and consultation, and collaboration with stakeholders.
CAADP Compact Kenya’s CAADP Compact commits the government to implementing the common vision
of the sector, as described in the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS), to
address the agricultural development agenda in the country.
National Climate- 2015 The vision for the CSA Programme is a “climate-resilient and low carbon growth sustainable
Smart Agriculture agriculture that ensures food security and contributes to national development goals in
Programme line with Kenya’s Vision 2030”.
Draft National 2015 The overall goal is sustainable development, management, utilization and conservation of
Forest Policy forest resources and equitable sharing of accrued benefits for present and future generations
of the people of Kenya.
Source: Kenya National Climate-Smart Agriculture Programme, 2015

Box 3: Farmer field schools (FFS) in climate-
smart agriculture
@FAO/Emah Madegwa
A farmer field school in the context of climate-
smart agriculture is a farmer-centered ecological
agriculture initiative that empowers farmers to
take the lead role in building their resilience/
adaptation to climate change, sustainably increasing
their productivity and meaningfully contributing
to mitigation of climate change. FFS appreciates
farmers’ wealth of knowledge and experiences in
coping with extreme climatic variabilities. FFS
seeks to integrate indigenous and new, ecologically
sound innovations to increase adaptation and
mitigation.
5.5 Gender Issues for CSA in Kenya
As in many other developing countries, the majority of

the poorest groups are composed of women, the disabled
and those living with HIV/AIDS. In many cases CSA
programmes have targeted these groups and aimed to
mainstream gender into their activities. As a result,
CSA activities implemented have had an overall positive In a study conducted as part of the FAO MICCA Project
impact on social equity and gender equality among the in Kenya, it was noted that new technologies aimed at
target group/s as well as broader communities in general. improving farm productivity may require additional
Many of the activities have had a direct positive impact on finances through credit facilities for their effective
gender equality in the form of enhanced food resources implementation. While access to credit between men
and incomes, especially for women who constitute and women in this case did not differ significantly, it was
approximately 75 percent of the rural agricultural labour found that male-headed households more often bought
force in the country. farm inputs with available agricultural finance while
female-headed households more often bought livestock
One of the main impacts of CSA practices on gender for keeping as a household asset; the indications being
equity and women’s empowerment is linked to changes that male-headed households were already more asset
in field labour requirements. Farm forestry for example, secure and could thus afford to make investments into
has had a positive impact on increases in the forest cover improving farm productivity.
and greening of the farmlands. This has reduced the
felling of forests and now women can fetch firewood Another finding from the project was that most households
closer to their homes. Another example is that the use have secure land tenure, which could serve as security for
of herbicides and mulching in conservation agriculture investment into longer-term improved practices such as
are in many cases done by men, thus freeing up time for planting agroforestry and fodder trees and other climate-
women. Reduction in weeding due to some CSA practices smart practices. However, men are the custodians of land
such as integrated pest management also means less time title deeds with limited user-rights extended to women
in the fields for women. and youth, thereby making it difficult for them to make
decisions on issues such as tree planting, which were used
Overall, more research into the gendered impacts of CSA for farm boundary marking rather than sustainable land
practices in the country is needed. In addition, the role improvements. The study found that women-headed
of youth in conservation agriculture and other climate- households often prefer to plant trees on farm boundaries
smart practices (not to mention agriculture in general) rather than within the farm. This was attributed to the
has been mentioned as a means to promote the practice smaller farm sizes of women-headed households when
while at the same time supporting youth livelihoods. compared with male-headed households.

Box 4: Women’s Success Story from the FAO MICCA Project in Kaptumo, Kenya
A group of women in the Kamotony area were worried that they would be unable to provide for their children
in the face of hard economic times. They formed a group but did not quite know what they could gainfully
do together. According to them, they would dejectedly ask themselves, “Sasa sisi tutafanya nini kutoka hali
hii?” (What can we do to emancipate ourselves from this situation?).
When they interacted with the MICCA project staff and were trained in various climate-smart agricultural
practices, it became clear what they would do — they would establish a group tree nursery.
The income they generated from selling indigenous tree seedlings, tea leaves, ornamental trees and garden
flowers from the tree nursery gave them a financial stepping-stone for investing in dairy production. They
have increased milk production after applying the knowledge gained through training on improved fodder
production and dairy cattle management. This has allowed them to access credit facilities, which has enabled
them to make further investments in their farm enterprises.
Unlike in the past, they are now able to pay their children’s school fees without difficulty. Some even use the
proceeds from milk sales to make monthly contributions to the National Health Insurance Fund for their
family members. In addition, the application of composted manure onto their kitchen gardens and passion
fruit has contributed to improved household nutrition.
The women mentioned that the adoption of CSA practices has generally reduced their stress levels and enhanced
cohesion in their homes. The success of this group has made it easier for them to adopt some practices such as
agroforestry, which ordinarily would be difficult for cultural reasons. Apart from being a source of firewood
and herbs, the planting of trees has freed up time they used to spend collecting firewood, which they now use
productively in other activities.
Looking forward, this women’s group will use the income derived from milk sales not only to build social
capital as a dairy management group, but also to increase their financial capital through regular table banking.
Source: FAO Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture Project

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4396e.pdf
@FAO/Emah Madegwa

5.6 Constraints to CSA Adoption in Kenya promoting climate-smart agriculture practices involving
fodder production. Small plot sizes moreover have an
In Kenya the adoption of CSA practices is hampered by a influence on practices such as agroforestry, as a farmer
general lack of awareness, understanding and confidence with a small plot of land may not be able to plant many
on the part of farmers and technical/extension workers trees within the farm but may rather prefer to plant
as to the principles and viability of some CSA practices trees on the farm boundaries so as to reduce tree-crop
compared with conventional practices, as well as a lack competition for resources. Research into appropriate
of government policy thrust to drive the countrywide tree species for small farm sizes would be useful.
promotion and adoption of CSA. Other constraints are
described below.
“Small farm sizes, lack of available labour
At times there is a lack of quality agricultural inputs,
and limited access to seed and planting
particularly in rural communities where quality
materials were noted as challenges
agrochemicals, farm implements and equipment, seeds,
tree seedlings and other necessary inputs for the adoption hampering some climate-smart practices,
of certain climate-smart agriculture practices are either in particular farm fodder production.”
not readily available or are unaffordable. In many cases,
inputs and implements of low quality are used, resulting
in sub-optimal results which ultimately do not favour A lack of general and technical knowledge on climate-
the promotion of climate-smart practices. smart practices is another challenge among farmers.
For example, in agroforestry some farmers have cited
Small farm sizes, lack of available labour and limited challenges of poor seed germination as well as seedling
access to seed and planting materials were noted as damage by pests and diseases. With proper training on
challenges hampering some climate-smart practices, in nursery management, these challenges can be overcome.
particular farm fodder production. These have a direct Knowledge and adoption of practices such as biogas
influence on the extent of adoption of specific fodder is also low and households require technical capacity
crops and the area put under fodder crop production building and financial support to implement such
by farmers. These factors need to be considered when practices successfully.

The prevalence of the open grazing system presents a 5.7 Opportunities for CSA Promotion in Kenya
challenge for the adoption of a number of CSA practices
including biogas, intercropping and composting. The There are a number of opportunities for the promotion
main issue is that the open grazing system makes manure of CSA technologies and practices in Kenya. As with the
management a time- and labour-intensive undertaking. challenges, the main pull factor for adoption of climate-
While benefiting from carbon credit is not the main smart practices relates to issues of direct socio-economic
goal of climate-smart agriculture, the lack of financial benefit for the farmers, including improved food security,
incentives for undertaking climate-smart practices does improved incomes, alternative energy sources (in the case
not bring any benefits to those trying to promote the of biogas) as well as improved availability of fuelwood
three principles. There is a need for clear mechanisms and construction material (in the case of agroforestry).
for farmers to benefit financially from practices such as
agroforestry. The opportunity to reduce costs and increase profits
related to farm produce is also an important factor, with,
While Kenya has a good agricultural extension network, for example, manure management practices providing
it is often hampered by a lack of financial capacity. The for reductions in the purchase of organic fertilizer,
extension system itself needs to build capacity in climate- multiple use of manure, including for biogas, of which
smart agriculture to enable extension workers to provide the slurry can be used for fruit and vegetable gardens as
the required support to farmers. well as fish ponds.
As with other countries in the sub-region, many of the

projects related to CSA in Kenya are being implemented “The main pull factor for adoption of
in a fragmented manner, with few linkages with one
climate-smart practices relates to issues
another. This type of implementation arrangement is
unsustainable in the long run and does not have the
of direct socio-economic benefit for the
intended large-scale impact on adoption of practices farmers, including improved food security,
and the national contribution to the three CSA pillars. improved incomes, alternative energy
The relatively short to medium-length duration of these sources as well as improved availability of
projects also does not promote long-term sustainability fuelwood and construction material.”
and wide-scale adoption.
Many appropriate policy frameworks exist for wide-scale Devolution of national government functions provides
implementation of climate-smart agriculture; however, an opportunity for the integration of CSA into county-
one of the main challenges is the availability of sufficient level plans, programmes and policies.
funding. Taking the Kenya INDC as an example, the funds
required to implement the programme are estimated at Collective farmer actions, for example integrated
as high as US$40 billion (while Ethiopia’s are estimated savings and lendings and shared community resources,
at $150 billion). provide opportunities for joint resource mobilization and
implementation of CSA practices such as community
While CSA is now a commonly used term among climate seed production and community forestry.
change and agricultural development practitioners across
the world, there is a lack of integration of climate-smart There is a strong base of human capital in the agricultural
agriculture into tertiary education curriculums across sector, including extension workers, development workers
Kenya. In addition, the level of awareness and knowledge and private sector stakeholders. Kenya’s extension service
about climate-smart agriculture among the broad public, has been estimated to have over 5 400 staff members
including media practitioners, is low. across the country, thus providing a base from which CSA
extension services can be provided to smallholder farmers
Institutional coordination on climate-smart agriculture in different parts of the country. This is complemented by
is still lacking, despite the presence of a number of CSA- a number of well-equipped training and demonstration
related policies, programmes and plans. centres that can be used to train and demonstrate CSA
practices and principles.

Kenya has a well-developed and distributed research
infrastructure covering all agro-ecological zones in the “Kenya has a wide range of
country. This is complemented by the presence of a large communication technologies that can
number of international research organizations such as be used to pass on the message of climate
ICRAF and CIMMYT, who have regional offices and are
change to a wider audience.”
conducting research in many parts of the country. This
provides an opportunity for large-scale research on CSA
practices in different parts of the country. Carbon markets bring opportunities for carbon trading,
especially for smallholder farmers who would like to
Kenya’s establishment of a Climate Change Unit (CCU) invest in forestry-related activities.
responsible for the coordination and implementation
of climate change activities presents an opportunity to There is huge potential to engage Kenya’s youth in
mainstream climate change adaptation and mitigation agriculture, particularly in the production of high-value
across all sectors, including agriculture. crops and commercial farming. The youth are also open
to new technologies and are likely to adopt innovative
Kenya’s policy-making environment and receptive climate-smart practices quicker than the elderly.
policy-makers are conducive to the formulation and
implementation of climate change policies and strategies Kenya has a wide range of communication technologies
in the country, as well as other policies and strategies that can be used to pass on the message of climate change
related to CSA, such as the National Climate-Smart to a wider audience. Examples are the ‘Shamba Shape
Agriculture Programme. Local knowledge and coping Up’ TV programme (aired by Citizen TV every Sunday
strategies at grassroots level can be tapped and utilized at 2 p.m.) and the ‘Seeds of Gold’ newspaper pullout
to support adoption of improved practices. in national print media every Saturday, which provide
advice on improving agricultural production.
There is huge unexploited irrigation potential through
water harvesting and irrigation among smallholder Many international organizations, development partners,
farmers and in the construction of large dams in drought- research organizations and donors are becoming involved
prone areas. in CSA and are indicating their willingness to support
Kenya’s climate change initiatives.
@FAO/Emah Madegwa

©FAO/Ny You
Country Study 3: Uganda

6
6.1 Overview of the Agriculture Sector in Uganda characterized by low agricultural productivity, limited use
of external inputs (such as improved seeds, agro-chemicals
Uganda has a total land area of 241 551 km2 of which and fertilizer), poor land management practices using
about 30 percent is highly degraded. The country has rudimentary production tools which contribute to low
14 agro-ecological zones (AEZs) with different farming agricultural productivity and land degradation, and high
systems determined by soil types, climate, landforms as post-harvest losses currently estimated at 30 percent.
well as socio-economic and cultural factors. Farming
systems cover a wide range of activities, including the
production of traditional cash crops (coffee, sugar “Over the years poor agricultural land
cane, cotton and tea) and food crops (banana, cassava,
management and increased occurrence of
maize, sorghum, finger-millet, rice, potatoes and beans)
extreme weather events have escalated land
and keeping livestock (cattle, goats, pigs and poultry).
Agriculture supports the livelihoods of 73 percent of degradation.”
households in the country and contributes 20.9 percent
of the national GDP and 80 percent of foreign currency
earnings, yet approximately 95 percent of the farmers are Population growth rates are relatively high at 3.2 percent
smallholders with landholdings averaging two hectares. per annum, which accelerates land fragmentation, soil
Fisheries also play a major role in the food system and nutrient depletion and unsustainable production practices.
economy of the country. Large human populations tend to degrade highland
ecosystems, while animals degrade marginal lands such as
Over the years poor agricultural land management and the cattle corridors semi-arid ecosystem, which stretches
increased occurrence of extreme weather events have from Rakai in southern Uganda to Karamoja in the north
escalated land degradation. Consequently, the sector is east of the country, largely caused by overgrazing. The

rapid human population growth has led to increased timber, poles and fuel (direct) and services such as habitat,
demand for food, energy and other social services. agricultural productivity and watershed protection, will
This has led to the expansion of land under agriculture lead to a reduction in the contribution of forests to the
(shifting cultivation), resulting in loss of vegetation. No development of Uganda.
deliberate efforts have been made by the people to increase
production through improved agricultural practices. Uganda has been described as one of the most vulnerable
Typically, farm operations are by conventional tillage, countries to climate change. Unreliable rainfall, frequent
which involves land clearing followed by ploughing drought, precarious water supply, seasonal ﬁres and
(normally twice before planting), often using ox-drawn endemic poverty are all major climate-related issues.
ploughs or hand hoes. Widespread clearing of forests, Already it has been observed that during the period 1900
continuous cultivation, burning of crop residue and to 2000, the frequency of years with significantly below
overgrazing have exposed land to agents of degradation, normal rainfall increased from once every 20 years to
thus raising serious concerns about conventional tillage. as often as once every five years, with severe impacts on
Land degradation is also evident in the drylands of the agricultural production. In addition to changes in rainfall
cattle corridor of Uganda, where land management is patterns, consistent warming trends have been observed
threatened by overgrazing by local and mobile pastoralist across the country and climate projections indicate that
herds, deforestation by excessive use of fuelwood resources this trend is likely to continue. As with other eastern
and poor and inappropriate agricultural practices on African countries, agriculture in Uganda is the major
marginal land. source of greenhouse gas emissions, currently contributing
57 percent of national emissions. Figure 6 shows the
Forests also play a major role in the economy of Uganda; major sources of GHG emissions within the agriculture
however the impacts of climate change and climate sector of Uganda. The largest proportion of emissions
change-induced activities will directly and indirectly result from enteric fermentation, followed by manure
reduce the contribution of the sector to Uganda’s left on pasture, both of which are related to livestock
development. Reduction in forest products such as production.

Crop residues 1%

Figure 6: GHG emissions in Ugandan agriculture in 2012 (FAOSTAT, 2015)

6.2 CSA Technologies and Practices: Adoption promote sustainability and productivity of agro-
and Implementation ecosystems.
Over the past few years, with the support of local and • Water harvesting for crops and livestock: Rainwater
international partners, Uganda has been aiming to harvesting is practised in many parts of Uganda as a
integrate climate change into its national development means of supplying water for domestic use, livestock
agenda. A number of technologies and practices have and crop production. The harvesting mechanisms
been promoted and used by different stakeholders across include large dams, small check dams, ponds lined
the country in order to support climate change adaptation, with PVC and diversion channels to direct ground
mitigation and food security. These technologies include runoff where it is needed. Innovative methods such
conservation agriculture, agroforestry, soil and water as roof and underground rainwater harvesting have
conservation (through terracing, strip and contour also been promoted, for example the Rubangano
cultivation, ridge and tie ridging practices), water Roof Rainwater harvesting system. To complement
harvesting for crops and livestock, intercropping, livestock the water-harvesting initiatives, micro-irrigation
management, improved fodder production, biogas and technologies such as low-cost drip irrigation have
watershed management. also been promoted.
• Conservation agriculture: The vast majority of • Soil and water conservation practices: These are
farmers in Uganda establish crops by digging with widely practised across the country and include a
hand hoes or ploughing with oxen or tractors. variety of conservation activities such as planting of
Burning of crop residues and clearing of new land for grasses and shrubs, terracing (for example Fanya Juu
agricultural expansion are also common. As a result terraces), riparian buffers as well as infield rainwater
soil erosion, loss of top soil, soil crusting and water harvesting.
logging are common among Ugandan farmers. In
order to address these problems, various conservation • Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM): This
agriculture principles are being promoted in Uganda, involves practices such as compost production,
including minimum soil disturbance through the use integrated nutrient management, crop residue
of planting basins and animal and mechanized ripping management and the planting of nitrogen-fixing
(e.g. the Ndume tractor ripper of Kenya and Magoye legumes and trees in and around crop fields (for
animal-drawn ripper of Uganda); crop rotation example lab-lab around maize fields).
including the integration of legumes; mulching and
crop residue retention; and herbicide use. In total,
the country is targeting having 250 000 hectares

under conservation agriculture by the year 2016 and
about one million farmers practising conservation
agriculture by 2025.
• Agroforestry: In Uganda this is commonly conducted

on hilly terrain primarily as a means to reduce erosion.
The practice involves integrating trees and/or shrubs
together with crops and/or livestock on the same piece
of land. In many cases farmers plant trees which
provide multiple benefits such as fuelwood, shade,
fodder, fruit and timber along with soil conservation
benefits. Alley planting of trees in between crop rows
is a form of agroforestry. Some of the commonly used
trees for this purpose in Uganda include Calliandra,
Gliricida and Sesbania species which are grown
with maize or finger millet. Agroforestry is often
promoted along with practices such as apiculture,
which can provide additional incomes as well as

Livelihood diversification: As with other countries in 6.3 CSA Stakeholders, Programmes and Projects
Eastern Africa, livelihood diversification is promoted in Uganda
as a key practice for increasing resilience and reducing
vulnerability to climate change. Livelihood diversification 6.3.1 Government Programmes
activities include integrated aquaculture, apiculture, fruit The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and
production and use of alternative poultry such as guinea Fisheries (MAAIF): The Ministry has undertaken a
fowl and ducks. number of CSA-related projects in various districts in
collaboration with other ministries such as the Ministry
Biogas and biomass fuel production: Biogas is promoted of Water and Environment (MWE) and other national
as a means of managing manure from which a large and international development partners. Some projects
amount of GHG emissions emanate, as well as for domestic being implemented include the following:
energy production. Biogas projects in Uganda are being
implemented by a number of research and development • Enabling Environment for Sustainable Land
organizations such as SNV and Heifer International. To Management (SLM) to Overcome Land Degradation
make the most out of biogas systems, there may be a in the Uganda Cattle Corridor: This project is funded
need to combine them with sustainable intensification by the Global Environment Facility through UNDP.
of livestock as well as animal confinement to ensure The objective is to provide land users and managers
efficient collection of manure. At the same time, biogas with the enabling policy, institutional and capacity
slurry can be used as an organic fertilizer to manage environment for effective adoption of SLM within
soil fertility. Most biogas systems are small-scale and the complexity of the cattle corridor production
used for domestic lighting and cooking by households system. The project integrates some CSA practices
connected to the biogas digester. in six districts of Uganda – Nakasongola, Nakaseke,
Lyantonde, Sembabule, Kamuli and Kaliro. Some
activities involve the promotion and creation of
“To make the most out of biogas systems, an enabling environment for sustainable charcoal
production.
there may be a need to combine them with
sustainable intensification of livestock
• Enhancing Adaptation to Climate-Smart Agriculture
as well as animal confinement to ensure Practices in the Farming Systems of Uganda: This
efficient collection of manure.” project, which is funded by COMESA and UNDP, aims
to enhance CSA adoption in five districts of Uganda –
©FAO

Namutumba, Bugiri, Budaka, Busia and Buyende. The SLM is a multi-sector national initiative spearheaded
project’s main objectives are to increase productivity by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry
through the sustainable management of soil and water and Fisheries (MAAIF) – the focal ministry for the
resources and build capacity of farmers and extension UNCCD and CAADP. The SIF is aimed at providing
officers at local government level in an effort to an integrated cross-sectoral approach to investing
develop a climate change resilient society and generally in solutions to crosscutting SLM challenges. It is
increase the number of farmers using climate-smart also aimed at scaling-up and mainstreaming SLM
agriculture practices. The project is implemented into the centre of national development agendas.
by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry The development objective is to strengthen sector
and Fisheries in collaboration with the National cooperation in order to halt, reverse and prevent
Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), Ministry land degradation/desertification and to mitigate the
of Water and Environment, Ministry of Trade, Industry effects of climate change and variability. The U-SIF
and Cooperatives and the local government staff in the SLM has a 10-year (2010-2020) horizon organized
participating districts. Activities include supporting into two phases: Phase I (2010-2015) and Phase II
farmers in the planting of 500 000 agroforestry trees, (2015-2020). The ultimate goal is to increase food
establishing climate-smart gardens at a minimum of 30 security through increased production, water and
schools and training teachers and students to manage environmental management, restoration of ecosystems
these gardens, as well as developing a monitoring and in the dry areas and reduction of deforestation.
evaluation system for CSA.
Ministry of Water and Environment
• Agricultural Technology and Agribusiness Advisory • Strengthening Climate Information and Early
Service SLM Initiative: This World Bank-funded Warning Systems for Climate Resilient Development
project supports the National Agricultural Research and Adaptation to Climate Change in Uganda:
Organization (NARO) and National Agricultural The project aims to ensure the establishment of
Advisory Services (NAADS) in two districts information infrastructure on weather, climate and
of Nakasongola and Lira. Along with aiming to disaster management. The project is implemented by
improve agricultural productivity, the project also the Uganda National Meteorology Authority and the
looks at enhancing the sustainability and resilience of Department of Water Resources Management in the
agricultural production systems to land degradation Ministry of Water and Environment, in partnership
and climate risks, as well as expanding the land with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry
area under improved land and water management and Fisheries, Office of the Prime Minister and other
practices. relevant partners at national and district level.
• The National Climate-Smart Agriculture Task Force • Strengthening Sustainable Environment and
(NCSATF): The task force is supported by UNDP Natural Resource Management, Climate Change
and FAO Uganda and is chaired by the Ministry of Adaptation and Mitigation in Uganda Project: This
Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries. The project is aimed at enhancing sustainable conservation
NCSATF is a consortium of partners who are either and utilization of natural resources, climate change
practising or funding CSA activities in the country. adaptation and mitigation, and strengthening the
The technologies promoted include conservation capacities of institutions to undertake sustainable
agriculture, agroforestry, integrated watershed environment and natural resources actions. The
management, natural resources management, project is implemented by the World Wide Fund for
sustainable land management and rangeland Nature (WWF) in collaboration with the Ministry of
management. Water and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture,
Animal Industry and Fisheries, UNDP Small Grants
• Uganda Strategic Sustainable Investment Framework Scheme and the International Union for Conservation
on Sustainable Land Management (U-SIF SLM) of Nature (IUCN). Activities have included the
Project: The project aims to promote cooperation establishment of tree seedling nurseries, installation
among key sectors to improve natural resource-based of biogas digesters and capacity building in the
livelihoods and other ecosystem services. The U-SIF sustainable production and utilization of charcoal.

6.3.2 Development Agencies and Southern Africa”. Recently FAO has been supporting
Non‑Governmental Organizations the development of Uganda’s climate-smart agriculture
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): programme as well as the climate-smarting of Uganda’s
UNDP is supporting a number of CSA-related programmes national agricultural investment plans. FAO has also
and projects in Uganda in partnership with MAAIF and supported a study on the mainstreaming of climate change
MWE. These include: into the second national development plan. Other key
projects include:
• The Green Charcoal Project – Addressing Barriers
to Adoption of Improved Charcoal Production • Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change in the
Technologies and Sustainable Land Management Central Cattle Corridor Project by FAO Uganda:
Practices through an Integrated Approach: The main The project has two main funding partners – the
goal of the Green Charcoal Project is to develop and European Union and the Government of Belgium.
promote improved charcoal production technologies This FAO project is implemented within the framework
and sustainable land management practices through of the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA)
an integrated approach. The project is implemented and aims to strengthen the resilience of the rural
by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development population and the agricultural production systems
(MEMD) in collaboration with the Ministry of Water in the central part of the cattle corridor, and to build
and Environment, National Forestry Authority, the capacities of communities, commercial farmers
Nyabyeya Forestry College and the four districts of and the Government of Uganda to cope with climate
Kiboga, Kiryandongo, Mubende and Nakaseke. change. The GCCA in Uganda is ensuring ownership
and alignment by supporting the implementation
• The Low Emission Capacity Building (LECB) Project of the National Adaptation Programme of Action
for Uganda: This project focuses on strengthening (NAPA), particularly its components of water for
Uganda’s technical and institutional capacity in the production, drought adaptation, tree planting and
development of greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory climate-compatible development planning. To enhance
systems and nationally appropriate mitigation actions Uganda’s climate change knowledge and capacities,
(NAMAs) with built-in measuring, reporting and the GCCA is concentrating on strengthening the
verification (MRV) systems. Within this project, institutional capacity of the Climate Change Unit of
agricultural NAMAs are also being developed related the Ministry of Water and Environment, increasing
to upland rice and livestock, while an energy NAMA climate change awareness and knowledge in selected
related to efficient cook stoves is also being proposed. departments and districts, and ensuring that good
The project is funded by the German Government, adaptation practices are integrated into policies and
the European Union and UNDP and is implemented plans. The partners in the project are the Ministry
in partnership with the Ministry of Water and of Water and Environment, the joint Water and
Environment’s Climate Change Unit. Environment Sector Working Group and the Ministry
of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO): FAO is implementing a number of CSA-
related programmes in Uganda. A key component of this “To enhance Uganda’s climate change
work is the support to the National CSA Task Force to
knowledge and capacities, the GCCA
conduct CSA awareness-raising and promotion activities
is concentrating on strengthening the
across the country. This has included support in the
development of awareness-raising material, conducting institutional capacity of the Climate
awareness-raising events, giving demonstrations, Change Unit of the Ministry of Water
development of a conservation agriculture field manual, and Environment, increasing climate
and conducting various studies and assessments related change awareness and knowledge in
to climate-smart agriculture. As with Ethiopia and selected departments and districts, and
Kenya, this work is conducted with funding from
ensuring that good adaptation practices are
COMESA through the project “FAO Technical Support
to the COMESA-EAC-SADC Programme on Climate integrated into policies and plans.”
Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Eastern and

©FAO/Ny You
• Supporting Developing Countries to Integrate CSA-related practices and ensuring sustainable land
the Agricultural Sector into National Adaptation productivity. The project is implemented using funding
Plans (NAPs): This is part of an FAO-UNDP project channelled through FAO and has adopted the Farmer
to support eight developing countries to integrate Field School (FFS) approach. The farmers are greatly
agriculture into their National Adaptation Plans. motivated as, for decades, they have witnessed their
The project is an extension of FAO’s and UNDP’s soils being washed into the Kagera River and now they
work being conducted through the NAP Global see a real possibility of reducing this loss. The FFS
Support Programme and will allow FAO to bring approach has enabled them to implement a number
in its extensive experience based on work through of CSA practices within the framework of integrated
the Framework Programme for Climate Change watershed management. A few examples of practices
Adaptation (FAO-Adapt) to assist countries with their being promoted and conducted within TAMP are
respective agriculture sectors in the NAP processes. shown in Annexure 4. These include the Katongelo
The project is funded through the International Watershed Management Project (Kyebe); the Kiruhura
Climate Initiative (ICI). The project is aligned with Watershed Management Project (Sanga); and the
the priorities of the Climate Change Unit, which Rubangano Watershed Management Project (Mwizi).
include building the technical capacity of the Unit,
the development of a climate change policy and Climate and Development Knowledge Network
the development of mainstreaming guidelines for (CDKN): CDKN is supporting a project on the economic
harmonizing national action on climate change assessment of climate change in Uganda commissioned
adaptation and mitigation. by Uganda’s Climate Change Unit. The project aims to
make regional-scale historical and future climate change
• Trans-boundary Agro-Ecosystem Management projections of annual, seasonal and monthly rainfall and
Programme (TAMP): The TAMP project is aimed near-surface temperatures under two scenarios from the
at combating land degradation through the use of IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report.

Vi Agroforestry (Vi-skogen): In Uganda, Vi Agroforestry planting, environmental awareness campaigns, energy-
has supported tree planting, undertaken agroforestry and saving initiatives (e.g. improved cook stoves) and water
climate change-related training, supported agroforestry harvesting training, among others. UFNEA has also
awareness campaigns in schools and promoted more been promoting and conducting training on Farming
efficient energy sources. God’s Way (FGW) and Islamic Farming (IF) to small-
scale farmers in a number of communities in Uganda
Uganda Faiths Network on Environmental Action with the aim of increasing agricultural productivity and
(UFNEA): This organization aims to use a faith-based improving peoples’ livelihoods. IF and FGW have similar
approach in strengthening local adaptive capacity in technological and management aspects and both promote
sustainable land management. Since the launch of UFNEA conservation agriculture practices based on religion.
in October 2013, the network has implemented several See Box 5 below for more details on UFNEA and their
CSA-related activities, which include promotion of tree work.
Box 5: Faith-Based Climate-Smart Agriculture Activities by UFNEA Uganda
The Uganda Faiths Network on Environmental Action (UFNEA) is a voluntary, not-for-profit network of
faith groups and faith-based organizations in Uganda that are committed to protecting the environment and
promoting sustainable development and agriculture, according to their own beliefs, teachings and practices.
UFNEA draws its inspiration from the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), a UK-based charity
that works with 11 major faiths worldwide to help them develop environmental programmes based on their
beliefs, practices and teachings.
In 2010, ARC began working with Christian, Muslim and Hindu groups in sub-Saharan Africa on sustainable
land and water management. As a result, in 2012, 27 faith groups from 11 countries launched long-term plans
on the environment – actions that each faith group pledged to take over the next seven years. These faith groups
included a number of Ugandan faith-based organizations, which in 2013 formed a faith network in Uganda to
enable development of closer partnerships with the Ugandan government and other stakeholders to harness
efforts in sustainable land and water management. UFNEA’s mission is “to inspire faith groups in Uganda
into strengthening awareness and action on the environment and sustainable agriculture”. UFNEA’s partners
include MAAIF, ARC, the Jane Goodall Institute and the Kenya Organization for Environmental Education.
Selected UFNEA activities include:

• Tree growing by each of the founding members and their various constituencies, i.e. churches, mosques,
target areas and organizations.
• Environmental sermons in places of worship, particularly on Fridays and Sundays, to encourage the faithful
to engage in environmental activities in their homes and indeed their places of influence.
• Environmental awareness workshops at village level, in schools and tertiary institutions.
• Energy conservation initiatives such as fireless cookers, improved stoves and briquette making to conserve
energy by reducing the amount of charcoal and firewood used at household level.
• Water conservation initiatives, e.g. bio-sand filter, water-harvesting techniques, etc.
• The faith-based Education for Sustainable Development tool kit launch at a workshop. The kit has
been reviewed by the National Curriculum Development Centre and a teachers’ workshop was held in
October 2014.
• Conservation agriculture, Farming God’s Way and Islamic Farming: In efforts to carry out agricultural
extension, UFNEA has been promoting and conducting training in Farming God’s Way (FGW), Islamic
Farming (IF) and conservation agriculture to small-scale farmers in a number of communities in Uganda
with the aim of increasing agricultural productivity and improving peoples’ livelihoods. The principles
remain the same across the three techniques: no ploughing (minimal disturbance of the soil or no tillage);
mulching, to minimize water loss; no burning of crop residues; and practising crop rotations.

The Association for Strengthening Agricultural technologies and innovations by smallholder farmers in
Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA): the semi-arid areas of Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania
ASARECA is implementing a number of climate-smart and Uganda. Sorghum, being a perennial crop, is a
agriculture-related projects in the Eastern Africa sub- good example of a conservation agriculture crop.
region, which include:
Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA):
• Sustainable Agricultural Water Productivity FARA is implementing the Climate-Smart Agriculture
Enhancement for Improved Food and Nutrition Project. The project is funded through a grant from
Security in Eastern and Central Africa Project. the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation
This project is implemented by institutions in seven (NORAD) to implement a two-year project aimed at
of the 11 ASARECA member countries. The project promoting adoption of CSA strategies that enhance
goal is to increase efficient use of water to improve agricultural productivity for improved food security and
food and nutrition security. Through the project, poverty reduction. More importantly, the project will
ASARECA seeks to use climate-smart agriculture provide a formidable platform for strengthening capacities
initiatives to diversify water management benefits in and emphasizing the need for increased awareness of CSA
the sub-region. ASARECA is also building on this in African Research for Development (AR4D) policies,
project with a new initiative that seeks to strengthen processes and strategies at national and regional levels. The
the capacity of agricultural research for development project essentially deals with research and analytical work
and training institutions in Eastern and Central Africa efforts to enhance the scientific and political economy
to empower communities to adapt to climate change. understanding of local circumstances and driving factors
Unlike most ASARECA projects, which are limited for enhanced and sustained adoption of CSA. At the
to 11 member countries, this 14-month initiative conclusion of the project, it is envisaged that the increased
will stretch beyond the ASARECA sub-region to the capacity among the National Agriculture Research Stations
COMESA region. It was conceived in a pan-African (NARS) will contribute to the realization of the CAADP
partnership between ASARECA and COMESA and is objectives as well as the scaling-up of successful CSA
informed by the rapid change in climatic conditions initiatives to other parts of the region.
leading to risks such as crop failure, livestock deaths,
loss of income, food insecurity, malnutrition and
conflicts, which have a direct and immediate impact “The FARA Climate-Smart Agriculture
on the livelihoods of the populations.
Project will provide a formidable
platform for strengthening capacities
• ASARECA Sorghum Project: The goal of this project
is to enhance productivity and competitiveness of
and emphasizing the need for increased
the sorghum-legume system in the semi-arid areas awareness of CSA in African Research
of Eastern and Central Africa (ECA), with a focus for Development (AR4D) policies.”
on promoting sustainable sorghum-legume system ©FAO/Ny You

The European Union (EU) Delegation in Uganda: The Cooperative League of the United States of America
The EU Delegation in Uganda is supporting many (CLUSA) Uganda: CLUSA Uganda is implementing
programmes which have CSA components. In future, a three-year programme in 13 districts of Uganda –
all EU programmes will ensure that climate change Alebtong, Masindi, Pader, Apac, Dokolo, Kole, Lira,
is mainstreamed into development and food security Otuke, Oyam, Kaberamaido, Kiryandongo, Amolator and
projects in the country. These include: Agago. The programme aims to increase food security
• The Global Climate Change Alliance Project being by increasing agricultural productivity of maize and
implemented through FAO; beans (including soybeans) through the introduction
• Peace Recovery Development Programme (PRDP) of conservation farming (CF) cropping practices into
in Karamoja (in partnership with other development smallholder farming systems. The project, which is funded
partners); by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),
• Karamoja Improved Livelihoods Programme (KAILP); intends to reach 60 000 direct beneficiaries. CLUSA is
and also collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture and
• Northern Uganda Agriculture Livelihoods Recovery has been involved in other CSA-related projects such
Programme (ALREP). as the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume
Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and
Southern Africa (SIMLESA).
Participatory Ecological Land-Use Management

(PELUM) Uganda: PELUM is part of a 10-country
association of CSOs in Eastern and Southern Africa20 whose
vision is to empower communities to utilize their natural
resources sustainably. PELUM Uganda is a network of
organizations promoting ecological land-use management
through capacity building, research and advocacy for
improved community livelihoods; as well as several
interventions to address the knowledge gap in smallholder
© REDS Uganda
farmers’ adaptation to climate change and build the capacity

of member organizations with regard to climate change.
A first sensitization workshop for member organizations
on climate change was held in 2009. Since then PELUM
A teacher at Sekulo Primary School in Uganda’s Budaka Uganda has supported three member organizations –
District instructs pupils on digging of planting basins
Volunteer Efforts for Development Concerns (VEDCO),
Uganda Environmental Education Foundation (UEEF)
and Caritas Nebbi – to pilot small grants projects in
Nakasongola, Mukono and Nebbi districts on community-
based adaptation to climate change.
A study on enhancing small-scale farmers’ livelihoods

and food security through climate change adaptation
was conducted in 2010/11. In 2012, a publication
on building community resilience to climate change
through sustainable agriculture was developed. A video
documentary on building community resilience to climate
change impacts was produced in 2013. Public dialogues
© REDS Uganda
on climate change have been ongoing since 2011, with

numerous engagements in consultation processes towards
the development of climate change policy. In 2013/14,
Ndume tractor ripper manufactured in Gilgil, Nakuru the development of Community-Managed Climate-Smart
County, Kenya Sustainable Agriculture (CSSA) models was addressed.
20 www.pelum.org

Since then, the CSSA model has been piloted by three agriculture does well in areas that are not heavily degraded.
other member organizations – International Institute In such areas, the basins and rippers come in handy. For
for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), Ecological Christian the rippers, farmers depend on each other’s oxen. The
Organisation (ECO) and War on Want NI – in Teso, oxen owners rip the rows at a fee and they use the money
Karamoja and Gulu districts respectively. to buy feeds for the oxen. NARO is also working on a
number of other national and regional CSA programmes
6.3.3 Research and academic institutions and projects, including the SIMLESA project.
National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO):
NARO’s piloting of conservation agriculture supported CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change,
by FAO began in 2001 in 16 micro catchments in the Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS): CCAFS is
Mbale and Palisa districts. NARO introduced cover crops implementing the Policy Action for Climate Change
for increased soil fertility and later addressed herbicide Adaptation (PACCA) programme in Tanzania and
issues. NARO-AEATRI has been involved in developing Uganda, with various collaborations. These include:
prototypes, and testing and manufacturing new equipment • IITA, CIAT, ILRI, Bioversity, ICRAF, CCAFS East
such as hand hoes, animal-drawn implements and Africa;
processing equipment. However, poor links with the • public bodies (MAIF, MWE, climate change agencies);
market and high production costs posed serious problems • private bodies (media, NGOs, civil society, private
in stepping up to large-scale production. Other challenges sector); and
encountered at the time included weed management, • local government, farmer associations and producers.
difficulties encountered in changing farmer mindsets
to avoid crop residue burning, low turnout for training PACCA’s overall objective is to use interdisciplinary
sessions, a lack of appropriate farm implements, use of science-based recommendations to influence policy
poor-quality inputs such as herbicides, crop pests and implementation that encourages adoption of climate-
diseases and land tenure disputes. smart agricultural practices across multiple scales through
creation of a learning alliance and engagement with
national policy decision-makers.
“NARO-AEATRI has been involved in
Makerere University: Makerere University established
developing prototypes, and testing
a Centre for Climate Change Research and Innovation
and manufacturing new equipment such (MUCCCRI) in the Agriculture Department to carry
as hand hoes, animal-drawn implements out research and innovation and also to mainstream the
and processing equipment.” teaching of climate change into the University curriculum.
The centre recently reviewed a short climate change
course for parliamentarians. The centre works closely
NARO has also implemented the Agriculture Technology with FAO, NARO, MAAIF, MWE, FANRPAN and other
and Agribusiness Advisory Services (ATAAS) project development partners. It is anchored in four pillars:
funded through GEF. The technology promoted by the Climate Change Science; Climate Change Mitigation;
project was that of plant basins adopted from South Climate Change Adaptation; and Policy and Outreach.
Africa. These basins were meant to collect rain water
and conserve it. Thus, there would be residual water 6.3.4 Private Sector
and also nutrient retention in the soil. The basin was Balton Uganda: Balton Uganda is a member of the
big enough to allow three seeds per basin of maize and Balton group of companies. The agrochemical division
six of beans. This was found to increase production by is involved in supporting CSA initiatives by promoting
30 percent and this as an incentive for more farmers to water-harvesting techniques, irrigation and greenhouse
engage in conservation agriculture. The basin had the farming. Benefits of these three initiatives include
added advantage of breaking hardpan created in soils. increased crop production on a small area, higher yields
per unit area and less water usage per unit area. Balton
Training was also conducted in rip lines technology. Uganda provides additional support through herbicide
The advantage of rip lines is the precision of nutrient sales and promotions for use in conservation agriculture,
application. This allows crops to maximize fertilizer promotion of water troughs for livestock in the ASALs
usage. Farmers were also trained in crop rotations and and crop production techniques by means of aquaponics
associations. Overall, the project found that conservation and hydroponics. Another initiative is the promotion

AIDS and establishing demonstration farms at the
local level, demonstrating the different agroforestry
and climate-smart approaches so that other farmers
in the vicinity can learn from the demonstrations.
This project is being implemented in Mayuge, Bugiri,
Iganga and Mukono districts.
• Regional farmers’ dialogues on climate change for
evidence-based engagement with policy-makers
on climate change and food security. Funded by
the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the overall objective
of this project is to raise awareness among farmers
about climate change and its impacts and to build an
evidence-based advocacy agenda on climate change
and food security.
• Enhancing the capacity of UNFFE to effectively
influence the policy environment for Climate
Change Adaptation. Funded by USAID Uganda,
of a dam-liner material used in man-made dams for the objectives of this project are to:
water harvesting and storage. The dam liner is made - Build farmers’ resilience to climate change by
of high-density polythene and comes in various sizes. raising awareness of the adverse consequences
The advantage is that the material can be re-used and of climate change and the different adaptation
the dams can be of any size. technologies available; and building the capacity
of farmers’ organizations and grassroots farmers
Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE): to respond accordingly;
UNFFE has been conducting a number of CSA-related - Increase farmers’ awareness of existing policies,
programmes. These include: legislation and programmes for supporting
• Promotion of climate-smart agriculture among agricultural value chains and climate change
farmers to increase their resilience to the impacts adaptation; and
of climate change. This project was piloted in - Strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of
Nakasongola and Sironko districts. The project is farmers in policy advocacy and engagement
funded by Agriterra with an overall objective of raising relating to policies affecting agricultural and/or
awareness among grassroots farmers of the adverse climate change adaptation.
consequences of climate change and the possible
mitigation and adaptation technologies available, Rural Enterprise Development Services (REDS): REDS
or which can be developed and adapted, with strong Uganda implemented the Conservation Agriculture
emphasis on adaptation. Regional Programme (CARP) from 2010 to 2014. Funded
• Scaling out climate-smart agriculture in Eastern by the Royal Norwegian Government in collaboration with
Africa. The project is funded by NORAD through COMESA, REDS works closely with MAAIF in order to
the East Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF). The promote conservation agriculture in Uganda. CARP is a
goal is to contribute to strengthening the capacity of regional project being implemented in Uganda, Malawi,
farmer organizations in Eastern Africa by addressing Kenya and Tanzania. The project goal is to support climate
food insecurity. The project is implemented in the change adaptation priorities, including conservation
districts of Mukono and Buikwe. agriculture, in the COMESA-EAC-SADC region. The
• Agroforestry project. This project, funded by the project had a target of 35 000 conservation agriculture
Swedish Cooperative Centre, is implemented in adopters in 10 districts and 60 000 personnel trained on
four districts around the Lake Victoria basin. The conservation agriculture by 2015. By November 2014,
project has four components – climate change; lobby results of REDS work showed that 28 000 farmers had
and advocacy; HIV and AIDS; and institutional adopted and are practising conservation agriculture
development. The main objective is to build capacity and 58 000 farmers had been trained in conservation
of UNFFE and four of its members in the four agriculture in the 10 target districts. The main focus is
components, for them to be able to serve their on training farmers and lead farmers to enhance the
members better by conducting training on HIV/ adoption of conservation agriculture.

©FAO
6.4 Key Policies and Institutions Relevant to CSA Uganda CAADP Compact: In the CAADP Compact,
in Uganda Uganda committed itself to three principles – firstly,
agriculture-led growth as a main strategy; secondly, the
FAO recently assisted the country to conduct a study aimed pursuit of a six percent average annual growth rate for the
at supporting the mainstreaming of climate change into agricultural sector; and thirdly, to increase the share of
the Second National Development Plan for the country, the national budget allocated to the agricultural sector to
which will run from 2015-2020. FAO has also assisted reach the eventual target of 10 percent. Therefore, at least
Uganda to conduct workshops aimed at supporting the for the foreseeable future, agriculture will continue to be
mainstreaming of climate-smart agriculture into the one of the most important sectors in Uganda’s economy.
country’s Agriculture Sector Strategic Framework (ASSP,
2015-2020) based on the Agriculture Sector Development Uganda National Climate Change Policy (2012):
Strategy and Investment Programme (DSIP, 2010-2015). Uganda developed a draft National Climate Change
Overall there is still a significant need for Uganda to raise Policy in 2012. The draft policy recognizes the need
the level of awareness among stakeholders and build for both adaptation and mitigation actions and paved
the capacity of various sectors to mainstream climate the way for the establishment of a Climate Change Unit
change into national and sector development plans. within the Ministry of Water and Environment. The
Most recently the Government of Uganda launched main objective of the National Climate Change Policy
the National Climate-Smart Agriculture Programme to is to ensure that all stakeholders address climate change
be jointly implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, impacts and their causes through appropriate measures,
Animal Industry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Water while promoting sustainable development. The policy
and Environment. The Programme outlines six strategic also aims to create the enabling framework for addressing
priorities as sources of Uganda’s agricultural development climate change in the country. The focus of the policy
and growth in a changing climate. is on adaptation, mitigation and research, as well as
cross-cutting areas of capacity building, education and

training. The policy addresses sector-specific adaptation Agriculture Sector Development Strategy and
and mitigation priorities in agriculture and livestock, Investment Plan (DSIP, 2010-2015): In its Agriculture
water, fisheries and aquaculture; as well as forestry, land Sector Development Strategy and Investment Plan, the
use and land-use change, including Reducing Emissions Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries
from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). (MAAIF) emphasized the renewed recognition of the
fundamental importance of agriculture in Uganda’s
Uganda National Climate-Smart Agriculture economy and the central role it plays in development,
Programme (2015-2025): The vision for the CSA economic growth and poverty reduction. The DSIP has
Programme is a “climate-resilient and low-carbon four main pillars:
agricultural and food system contributing to increased • Enhancing production and productivity;
food security, wealth creation and sustainable economic • Market access and value chain development;
growth in line with the National Vision 2040”. The • Improving the enabling environment; and
programme identifies five key programme objectives • Institutional strengthening in the sector.
and six key result areas. The objectives are to:
• Increase agricultural productivity through climate- In June 2015, FAO’s specialized agricultural investment
smart agricultural practices and approaches that division (TCI) undertook a screening of the DSIP for
consider gender; climate-smartness in order to use the exercise and the
• Increase the resilience of agricultural landscapes and information to mainstream CSA into the upcoming
communities to the impacts of climate change; Agriculture Sector Strategic Framework (ASSP, 2015-
• Increase the contribution of the agricultural sector 2020). Overall it was found that the DSIP is most responsive
to low carbon development pathways through to increased slow-onset climate change and thus greater
transformation of agricultural practices; effort could be made to ensure the inclusion of more
• Strengthen the enabling environment for efficient and activities and/or budget for activities aimed at responding
effective scaling-up of climate-smart agriculture; and to extreme events as well as contributing to climate
• Increase partnerships and resource mobilization change mitigation. Mitigation potential in the DSIP is
initiatives to support implementation of climate-smart mostly related to increased efficiency in production, and
agriculture. more emphasis could be placed on activities related to
carbon sequestration (such as agroforestry) and reducing
emissions (for example sustainable energy sources such
The vision for the CSA Programme is as biogas and improved cook stoves).
a “climate-resilient and low-carbon
agricultural and food system contributing to
©FAO/Roberto Faidutti
increased food security, wealth creation and
sustainable economic growth in line with
the National Vision 2040”.
The key result areas are improved productivity and

incomes; building resilience and mitigation co-benefits;
value chain integration, research for development
innovations; improving and sustaining agricultural
advisory services; and improved institutional coordination.
The programme also highlights the importance of
sustainable land management, farm forestry, REDD+,
promotion of improved crop and livestock varieties;
irrigation development; value chain enhancement; and
raising awareness of CSA, among others. The programme
suggests an institutional structure for CSA that places the
National CSA Task Force at the helm of CSA coordination
in the country.

The report reiterated the need to engage the private sector The programme on the enabling environment offered
and research institutions on issues of more effective opportunities for resilience to extreme events, mostly
equipment (e.g. rippers, direct seeders) and machinery through the development of early-warning systems,
(two-wheel tractors) as a means to support both mitigation appropriate climate information systems, vulnerability and
and adaptation. In terms of the specific DSIP programmes, capacity assessments and integration of climate change
activities planned under the production and productivity into district development plans (this could be an area
component of the DSIP showed significant potential for of focus going forward to draw from national to district
CSA benefits in terms of adaptation to both slow onset level). The enabling environment programme also had
climate change events, extreme weather events and potential to contribute to mitigation through improved
climate change mitigation. Market access and value chain agricultural statistics related to GHG emissions data,
development offered most in contributing to resilience development of a livestock policy that integrates climate
to extreme weather events, mostly through investments change issues and issues around value chain development
in storage infrastructure to safeguard yields. and improved agricultural profitability.
Box 6: Evaluating climate-smartness of National Agricultural Investment Plans
FAO has been supporting countries in Eastern and Southern Africa in screening and climate-smarting of CAADP
National Agricultural Investment Plans (NAIPs) using tools developed in partnership with the World Bank. The
tools help to identify opportunities for, and systematically incorporate CSA investments into NAIPs based on
three main criteria – adaptation to slow-onset climate change events (e.g. increases in ambient temperature),
adaptation/resilience to extreme weather events (e.g. floods and droughts); and climate change mitigation. The
screening categories and terms as well as examples of activities in each category are shown below.
Screening measures Example of CSA-responsive actions

Physical Development and promotion of drought-tolerant and/or heat-tolerant crop
resilience varieties/animal breeds; enhanced water control and storage capacity.
Increased economic welfare and individual savings; crop insurance schemes;
Slow on-set
Economic village warehouse receipts facilities, etc. Diversification of production system,

resilience improved storage, off-farm earnings, diversity of employment opportunities,
health and social services, markets.
Increased individual knowledge of climate change impacts; strengthened local
Human-social resource management capacities, etc. Extension and access to technical know-
resilience how, farmer organizations, networks, education and training, information
management.
Flood early-warning systems; national disaster response preparedness; crop
Extreme events
gene bank and robust seed system, etc.
Carbon Increased above-ground and below-ground woody biomass; increased soil
sequestration organic matter content. Forestry, agroforestry.
GHG Reduction in point-source emissions, e.g. use of renewable fuels, re-use/recycling
Mitigation
emission of materials, reduction in wildfires/crop residue burning, etc. Biogas, improved

reduction stoves.
GHG Increased crop/animal productivity per unit of emission output through improved
emission timing of input usage, more complete animal nutrition, etc.
efficiency
While the exercise was initially conducted on the NAIPs of 12 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa
through desk review, a participatory process is now being used through workshops with technical officers
representing key areas of the NAIPs. In Eastern Africa, the exercise has recently been conducted in Uganda.
Other countries in Eastern Africa are targeted for similar support.

The Uganda Forestry Policy (2001): The National Forestry National Development Plan (2015-2020): The goal of
Policy was formulated in response to the deterioration in the National Development Plan is to facilitate achievement
the condition of the country’s forests. The overall goal of of Uganda’s Vision 2040, which in itself has the goal of
this policy is to achieve “an integrated forest sector that transforming Uganda from a predominantly peasant
achieves sustainable increases in the economic, social and and low-income society to a competitive upper middle
environmental benefits from forests and trees by all the income status country over a 30-year period. The
people of Uganda, especially the poor and vulnerable”. Second National Development Plan (2015 to 2020)
The policy recognizes the need to protect watersheds prioritizes agriculture among other key sectors of Uganda’s
and forests given their importance for ameliorating the economy. A concerted effort has been made to ensure
impacts of droughts. It also acknowledges the importance that the Second National Development Plan takes climate
of forests in climate change mitigation. change into consideration. Recently, FAO assisted the
country in conducting a study aimed at supporting the
Disaster Preparedness and Management Policy (DPM, mainstreaming of climate change into the Second National
2010): The goal of the DPM is to establish institutions Development Plan.
and mechanisms that will reduce the vulnerability of
people, livestock, plants and wildlife to disasters in National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA,
Uganda. Climate change is mentioned as one of the 2007): Uganda’s NAPA notes that the country’s livelihoods
issues that need to be addressed and the policy proposes and food security are particularly vulnerable to the
that government develop climate change adaptation and effects of climate change, owing to the high proportion
mitigation measures. of the country’s population that depends on rain-
fed agriculture for their livelihoods. Uganda’s NAPA
identifies nine Priority Adaptation Areas, which include
©FAO/Ny You
activities on community tree growing; ecosystem-based

adaptation; land degradation management; strengthening
meteorological services; community water and sanitation
projects; water for production projects; drought-
adaptation projects; vectors, pests and disease control;
indigenous knowledge (IK); and natural resources
management. Although NAPA piloting has been initiated
by the Ministry of Water and Environment, large-scale
implementation has not commenced.
Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA):

Uganda’s NAMA proposal included NAMAs related to
agriculture, forestry, REDD+, renewable energy, waste
management and transport. In forestry, the focus was
largely on sustainable charcoal production and sustainable
forest management, with the aim of reducing emissions
from deforestation as well as providing sustainable
charcoal-related livelihoods. In agriculture, two NAMAs
have been proposed through work done in the Low
Emissions Capacity Building (LECB) Project for Uganda.
These include NAMAs on:
1. The promotion of upland rice: The purpose of the
NAMA is to promote the cultivation of high-yielding
upland rice, combined with a reduction in total acreage
under paddy rice.
2. Livestock mitigation: This NAMA seeks to develop
methods to reduce GHG emissions from livestock
production in Uganda.

©FAO/Sarah Elliott
Table 3: Summary of the key CSA-related policies in Uganda
Policy Year Intention or goal

Uganda CAADP 2010 Agriculture-led growth as a main strategy; pursuit of a six-percent average
Compact annual growth rate for the agricultural sector; and increase in the share of
the national budget allocated to the agricultural sector to reach the eventual
target of 10 percent.
Disaster 2010 The goal of the Disaster Preparedness and Management Policy (DPM) is to
Preparedness establish institutions and mechanisms that will reduce the vulnerability of
and Management people, livestock, plants and wildlife to disasters in Uganda.
Policy
National 2016 – 2020 The goal of the National Development Plan is to facilitate achievement of
Development Plan Uganda’s Vision 2040, which in itself has the goal of transforming Uganda
from a predominantly peasant and low-income society to a competitive upper
middle income status country over a 30-year period.
National Forestry 2001 The overall goal of this policy is to achieve “an integrated forest sector that
Policy achieves sustainable increases in the economic, social and environmental
benefits from forests and trees by all the people of Uganda, especially the
poor and vulnerable”.
Draft National 2012 The policy aims to ensure that all stakeholders address climate change impacts
Climate Change and their causes through appropriate measures while promoting sustainable
Policy development.
Agriculture Sector 2010 – 2015 The plan emphasizes the renewed recognition of the fundamental importance
Development of agriculture in Uganda’s economy and the central role it plays in development,
Strategy and economic growth and poverty reduction.
Investment Plan
Uganda Climate- 2015 – 2025 The vision for this programme is climate-resilient and low-carbon agricultural
Smart Agriculture and food systems contributing to increased food security, wealth creation and
Programme sustainable economic growth in line with the National Vision 2040.

Uganda is a signatory to a number of multilateral 6.5 Gender Issues for CSA in Uganda
agreements related to climate change, land degradation
and sustainable development as a whole. This includes Across the various programmes there is evidence of gender
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate inclusion in decision-making and access to resources
Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological for CSA interventions in Uganda. Most programmes
Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Convention to have shown slight but insignificant differences between
Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The country submitted men and women in the form of land and credit access,
its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) production, harvesting and market levels, and during
to the UNFCCC ahead of COP21 in Paris in November farmer training sessions. The common use of one language,
2015. Uganda’s INDC represents the country’s targets to Luganda, is a contributing factor to social inclusion
contribute to global GHG mitigation efforts and aims for in CSA programmes. A number of studies have been
a 22 percent emissions reduction target from the business- conducted on integrating gender into climate change
as-usual scenario by 2030. The INDC includes plans to adaptation, including studies done by FAO and CCAFS in
increase forest cover to 10 percent of the national land Rakai District, one of Uganda’s most vulnerable districts
area, improve the sustainability of agriculture and reduce to climate change. Here it was found that men are more
reliance on wood fuel. The INDC is also conditional to likely to use mulching as a method for soil and water
international finance and technological support. The conservation compared with women, as mulching material
INDC integrates components from Uganda’s Climate- has to be obtained off-farm, which is easier for men to do.
Smart Agriculture programme. Men are also more likely to use inorganic fertilizers as a
method to enhance soil fertility compared with women,
As part of the East African Community, Uganda is subject because these fertilizers are also obtained off-farm.
to the East African Community Climate Change Policy
(EACCCP). This policy emphasizes the need for an When it came to crop management techniques such
integrated, harmonized and multi-sectoral framework for as intercropping, men and women engaged in this
responding to climate change among EAC’s five member activity equally. It was also found that women face more
states, which also include Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and constraints regarding access to agricultural information,
Tanzania. The policy aims to: including information on weather, climate and climate-
• strengthen meteorological services and improve smart practices and technologies, mostly because of lower
early-warning systems; mobility than men as a result of cultural restrictions.
• increase preparedness for disaster risk management; Women also have to balance domestic and agricultural
• scale up efficient use of water and energy resources, duties.
irrigation, crop and livestock production, protection
of wildlife and key vulnerable ecosystems such as Other information showed that external factors such
wetlands, coastal, marine and forestry ecosystems; as insecure land tenure may also affect adoption of
• improve land use, soil protection, tourism, CSA practices. For example, women may not have
infrastructure and human settlement; and the power to influence decisions regarding the land
• intensify control of diseases, vectors and pests. they till owing to insecure land tenure or land tenure
customs that restrict women’s decision-making. There
Mitigation measures prioritized in this policy include are cases of organizations working with women’s groups
afforestation, reforestation, promotion of energy efficiency, to promote climate-smart practices. These include the
efficient crop and livestock production systems, efficient Gomba Women’s Environment Project in Uganda
transport systems and waste management, while capturing and the Uganda Muslim Women’s Association, whose
opportunities in emission reductions in the region. members are trained in conservation agriculture and
However, the blueprint emphasizes that such actions the demonstration of conservation agriculture practices.
should not compromise the region’s social and economic
development. For full implementation of this policy, In general, more research needs to be done on the
each partner state needs to develop a national policy, impacts of various CSA practices on gender equity and
strategies and institutional arrangements to operationalize social inclusion, particularly with regard to the effects
the provisions made in this policy. on agricultural labour and time.

6.6 Constraints to CSA Adoption in Uganda • Many of the projects related to CSA in Uganda are
being implemented in a fragmented manner. This
While Uganda has a large number of programmes fragmented approach, with limited coordination
and projects focusing on climate change adaptation, and linkages, is unsustainable in the long run and is
particularly in the ASALs and drought-affected parts of likely not to have a large-scale impact on adoption
the country, there are still a number of challenges to the of practices and national contribution to the three
adoption of CSA by smallholder farmers in the country. CSA pillars. The relatively short to medium duration
• Fragmented land holdings and small land sizes pose of these projects also does not promote long-term
a challenge for some CSA practices that are often sustainability and wide-scale adoption.
more suitable for farmers with larger pieces of land,
for example agroforestry and fodder production.
• The prevalence of the open grazing system presents a “The prevalence of the open grazing
challenge for the adoption of a number of CSA practices system presents a challenge for the
including biogas, intercropping and composting. The adoption of a number of CSA practices
open grazing system makes manure management a including biogas, intercropping and
very time- and labour-intensive undertaking.
composting.”
• There is limited knowledge of the CSA concept and
some of the key practices among farmers, policy-
makers, the media and the general public. This • There is limited investment by government in
poses a challenge for awareness-raising, advocacy, CSA initiatives, partly on account of competing
policy-making and adoption of the practices. priorities and a lack of available funds. The Medium
• At times, quality agricultural inputs are unavailable Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for the
and/or unaffordable, particularly in rural communities DSIP indicated a 23.5 percent budget difference
with a need for quality agrochemicals, farm between the requirements for full implementation
implements and equipment, seeds and tree seedlings and the maximum allowable expenditure for its
for implementation of some climate-smart agriculture implementation determined by the Government of
practices. Uganda. There may actually be a bigger deficit based
©FAO

on what was eventually utilized within the sanctioned stakeholders across the country. The Government
budget allocation. Programmes such as the Uganda of Uganda has also shown great willingness to
INDC will require significant financing, which will collaborate with the various stakeholders towards
need to be availed by the international community and a coordinated approach to CSA in the country
through international climate-financing instruments. through platforms such as the National Climate-Smart
• Smallholder farmers in Uganda rely primarily on Agriculture Task Force. This presents an opportunity
government extension officers for agricultural support for all stakeholders to work together to improve the
and advice. However, Uganda’s National Agricultural scale up and sustained adoption of key climate-smart
Advisory Service (NAADS) is not currently geared agricultural practices.
towards CSA promotion and support, with the result • Uganda is in the process of finalizing key national
that the farmers cannot be adequately supported to plans and programmes, including the Second National
undertake new and improved climate-smart practices. Development Plan and the Agriculture Sector Support
The national agricultural extension system is currently Programme, both of which will run up to 2020.
being restructured and it has been suggested that Already partners such as FAO have conducted
the new extension set-up should include a focus on activities aimed at supporting the mainstreaming
capacity development of extension officers in CSA. of climate change and climate-smart agriculture
into these programmes. There is a need to ensure
6.7 Opportunities for CSA Adoption in Uganda that the final programmes adequately incorporate
climate-smart agriculture and that sufficient budgets
There are a number of opportunities for the upscaling of are allocated for climate-smart components of these
CSA in Uganda, which include the following: programmes.
• Religious approaches in the form of Farming God’s • Uganda has a large number of organizations involved
Way and Islamic Farming present an opportunity in CSA promotion that, if well-coordinated, can be
to scale up CSA to the millions of farmers who have an information resource to share evidence and best
firm religious values. practices for upscaling CSA across the country.
• The likelihood for improved food security, improved • These organizations can be utilized as a resource
incomes, reduced costs, alternative energy sources (in to share their experiences and lessons as well as a
the case of biogas), as well as improved availability resource to spread awareness and knowledge on
of fuelwood and construction material (in the case climate-smart agriculture in a harmonized manner
of agroforestry) presents an opportunity to advocate to all parts of the country.
and campaign for the adoption of climate-smart
agriculture across the country.
• The existence of a strong agricultural research
sector in Uganda through the National Agricultural
Research Organization as well as other national and
international agricultural research organizations
presents an opportunity for extensive research on
climate-smart agriculture, especially with regard to
practices suitable for the different agro-ecological
regions of the country.
• The agricultural extension service in Uganda is
undergoing major reform within the framework of the
National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS).
This presents an opportunity to integrate CSA into
their operations. Assessments and capacity building
in order to integrate CSA into the extension service
from training to deployment and from national to
district level could be supported by government
partners.
©FAO/Ny You
• There is currently a huge focus in Uganda on issues

around resilience, climate change adaptation and
climate-smart agriculture by Government and

©FAO/Ami Vitale
Sub-Regional Overvie w
7
Overall the study showed that while a number of CSA Kenya are both developing climate-smart agricultural
programmes and projects have been implemented across programmes which have been shared for stakeholder
the three countries, adoption of CSA practices still remains review.
low for various reasons, including limited knowledge of
and capacity in CSA, lack of coordination among CSA
stakeholders, lack of finance for CSA investments both at “The main climate-smart agricultural
farmer and at national level, and underdeveloped input
practices in the sub-region included
and output markets for CSA.
conservation agriculture, agroforestry,
7.1 Summary of Sub-regional Findings soil and water conservation, rainwater
harvesting and climate information.”
The main climate-smart agricultural practices in the sub-
region included conservation agriculture, agroforestry,
soil and water conservation, rainwater harvesting and There is a need to ensure budget allocation as well as
climate information, among other key CSA practices in implementation of these policies, programmes and
the sub-region which are shown in Table 4. strategies. The key national CSA-related programmes,
policies and strategies are shown in Table 5. In addition,
The study identified that all three countries have all countries are signatories to a number of multilateral
climate-smart agriculture-related policies, strategies and agreements related to climate change, land degradation
programmes, for example the Climate Resilient Green and sustainable development as a whole. These include
Economy Strategy in Ethiopia and the Climate Change the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Policy and Action Plan in Kenya, while Uganda and Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological

Table 4: Summary of the key CSA-related policies in Eastern Africa
CSA Practice Components How it is climate smart

Conservation • Reduced tillage • Carbon sequestration
agriculture • Crop residue management – mulching, intercropping • Reduce existing emissions
• Crop rotation/intercropping with cereals and legumes • Resilience to dry and hot spells
Integrated • Compost and manure management including green manuring • Reduced emission of nitrous oxide
soil fertility • Efficient fertilizer application techniques (time, method, and CH4
management amount) • Improved soil productivity
Small-scale • Year-round cropping • Creating carbon sinks
irrigation • Efficient water utilization • Improved yields and food security
Agroforestry • Tree-based conservation agriculture • Carbon sequestration
• Practised both traditionally and as improved practice, e.g. • Resilience and improved
farmer-managed natural regeneration productivity of agriculture
Crop • Popularization of new crops and crop varieties • Food security
diversification • Pest resistance, high yielding, tolerant to drought, short • Resilience
season • Improved incomes
Improved • Reduced open grazing/zero grazing • Improved livestock productivity
livestock feed • Forage development and rangeland management • GHG reduction
and feeding • Feed improvement • CH4 reduction
practices • Livestock breed improvement and diversification
Other • In situ water conservation/harvesting • Resilience of agriculture
• Early-warning systems and weather/climate information • Improved incomes
• Alternative energy – biofuels, efficient stoves • Reduced emissions
• Crop and livestock insurance • Reduced deforestation
• Livelihood diversification (apiculture, aquaculture) • Reduced climate risk
• Post-harvest technologies (agroprocessing, storage) • Reduced losses
Table 5: CSA-Related Programmes, Policies and Strategies in Eastern Africa
Country Programme, Policy or Strategy

Ethiopia • Environmental Policy of Ethiopia, 1997
• Environmental Impact Assessment Proclamation, 2002
• National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA), 2007
• CAADP Compact, 2009
• Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), 2010
• Agriculture Sector Policy and Investment Framework, 2010
• Agriculture Sector Programme on Adaptation to Climate Change (APACC), 2011
• Ethiopian Programme of Adaptation to Climate Change (EPACC), 2011
• Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) Strategy, 2011
Kenya • Agriculture Sector Development Strategy (ASDS), 2010-2020
• Kenya’s Economic Blueprint – Vision 2030
• National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS), 2010
• Climate Change Implementation Framework (NCCIF), 2012
• National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP), 2013
• Climate-Smart Agriculture Programme, 2015
• Draft National Forest Policy, 2015
Uganda • National Development Plan (2010 – 2014) and Second National Development Plan (2016 – 2020)
• National Agriculture Policy, 2011
• National Climate Change Policy, 2013
• Agriculture Sector Development Strategy (ASDS), 2010-2015
• Disaster Preparedness and Management Policy, 2010
• Draft National Climate Change Policy, 2012
• Agriculture Sector Development Strategy and Investment Plan (DSIP), 2010-2015 (to be followed
by the upcoming Agriculture Sector Strategic Plan [ASSP], 2016-2020).
• Climate-Smart Agriculture Programme, 2015

Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Convention to and local, regional and international NGOs such as
Combat Desertification (UNCCD). As of September 2015, World Vision, Vi Agroforestry, ASARECA, AGRA,
both Ethiopia and Kenya have submitted their Intended CARE International and the Africa Conservation Tillage
Nationally Determined Contributions to the UNFCCC Network (ACT). At continental level the African Union
and Uganda submitted theirs ahead of the 21st Conference and NEPAD, through programmes such as the Africa
of the Parties to the UNFCCC (UNFCCC COP21) held Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance and the Gender
in Paris, France at the end of 2015. Both Kenya and Climate Change Agriculture Support Programme
Uganda, as member states of the East African Community, (GCCASP), are playing a key role in promotion of CSA
are also subject to the East African Community Climate among sub-Saharan African countries.
Change Policy (EACCCP).
Across the three countries the role of suppliers and
Key stakeholders involved in promoting CSA can be buyers of CSA value chain products has to be carefully
grouped according to four broad categories – government; examined. Financial service providers such as banks and
development agencies (including international and microfinance institutes are also key stakeholders who
local organizations, NGOs and CBOs); research and play a role in financing climate-smart investments by
academic institutions; and the private sector. In Eastern smallholder and commercial farmers as well as supporting
Africa some of the key stakeholders include regional entrepreneurs involved in various aspects of the CSA
economic communities (RECs) such as IGAD, EAC and value chain, such as equipment manufacture and import.
COMESA; multilateral development agencies such as FAO The media were noted as another key stakeholder in
and UNDP; government ministries and departments, spreading awareness on climate-smart agriculture in the
particularly ministries related to agriculture, forestry, three countries. Capacity building for media practitioners
water and environment; national research organizations on climate-smart agriculture has been identified as a key
(i.e. EIAR, NARO and KALRI), international research CSA promotional activity for the sub-region.
institutes such as ICRAF, CIMMYT, ILRI and CCAFS;
@FAO/Emah Madegwa

Table 6: CSA Promotion Methods in the Sub-Region
Components
Training of The goal of the TOTs is to equip trainees with the necessary knowledge and skills to prepare them
Trainers for the role of trainer. The approach is based on the premise that before a person can train others
they need to be trained themselves, as well as on the multiplier effect or catalytic role of each
person trained training another or others, thus leading to quick dispersion of a technology or
principle from person to person. The approach is used for a number of CSA activities including
conservation agriculture, agroforestry and integrated pest management.
Demonstrations Demonstrations are used to show and compare a technology, under field conditions, as opposed
to the usual farmer practice. Demonstrations have been used for the promotion of conservation
agriculture in the sub-region as well as for demonstration of other practices such as integrated
pest management.
Watershed In Ethiopia, some climate-smart agricultural practices are being promoted in the context of a
management broader watershed management approach. This is particularly the case for the SLM Programme
approach that is being implemented in the country. The watershed management approach is an approach
to managing natural resources (land, fisheries, forests and water) that involves tackling technical,
institutional, economic and social issues in an integrated manner that includes all stakeholders in
a participatory manner. The approach is in line with FAO principles on CSA promotion, which
state that climate-smart agriculture requires actions beyond the farm level and go on to call
for adoption of an ecosystem approach, working at landscape level and ensuring intersectoral
coordination.
Farmer field FAO and their partners promote the farmer field schools approach which is non-formal,
schools participatory and interactive. This group-based learning process involves enhancing farmers’
abilities to investigate, analyse, innovate and learn improved farming practices. The approach
has been in use since 1989 and has more recently been used in conservation agriculture training.
Religious Farming God’s Way and Islamic Farming are two examples of religious methods of promoting
methods climate-smart agriculture. The approaches have been used in the promotion of conservation
agriculture principles in countries such as Uganda and Kenya. Farming God’s Way takes a
Christian perspective to more sustainable farming systems while Islamic Farming takes a
Muslim perspective.
Agricultural The theme for the Uganda National Agricultural Show was “Climate-Smart Agriculture for
shows Sustainable Food Security and Wealth Creation”. The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry
and Fisheries (MAAIF), through the Uganda Climate-Smart Agriculture Task Force, took a lead
in organizing the show under this theme and also engaged a wide range of stakeholders including
the Uganda National Farmers Federation and private sector partners. Given that all countries in
the sub-region hold national (and in some cases sub-national) agricultural shows, this method
of CSA promotion has the potential to generate a broad knowledge and awareness of CSA.
Schools Reaching out to schools – and hence their staff, students and parents – is another commonly
outreach used method of promoting CSA. For example, the Kenya Forestry Services (KFS) is encouraging
programmes tree planting in schools across the country through agroforestry. In Uganda, the Climate-Smart
Agriculture Task Force has held CSA awareness-raising events for teachers and school children.
Volunteer This farmer-to-farmer extension approach involves training farmers who, in turn, train and share
farmer trainer the knowledge and skills they acquired with other farmers. These farmer trainers are usually not
approach paid for their services, but receive free training and inputs from institutions implementing the
projects. The approach was used in the FAO MICCA Project. The approach is more participatory
and responds to challenges of linear extension models used in most countries.
Land-care The land-care approach focuses on empowering local people to willingly take action on local
approach problems, and integrates those actions into addressing broader issues. The approach has been
used in the promotion of agroforestry in Eastern Africa. The approach focuses on community-
based and -led sustainable natural resource management and integrated sustainable natural
resource management; simultaneously improving people’s livelihoods as well as the natural
resource base upon which they depend.
Other methods Community-based natural resource management has been used as an approach for creating
awareness of some CSA practices such as agroforestry, promotion of biogas and improved
livestock management.

Financiers of CSA projects included the World Bank, and extensive labour requirements associated with
COMESA, GiZ, the Norwegian Agency for Development the collection of cattle manure for compost and/or
Cooperation (NORAD) and the Netherlands Development biogas production. In all three countries, the livestock
Agency. Regional and national farmers’ organizations, subsector, where much of the agricultural GHG
particularly the East African Farmers’ Federation and emissions emanate and subsequently where there is
its national counterparts are also playing a vital role in greatest potential for reduction of agricultural GHG
CSA promotion. The private sector played a key role emissions, has unfortunately not received the focus
in direct CSA promotion in Uganda and Ethiopia (for and attention the sector warrants, especially from a
example Makobu Enterprises and REDS Uganda), while GHG mitigation perspective.
in Kenya the private sector played a role in the import, • There is a general lack of quality agricultural inputs,
manufacture and sales of CSA equipment (e.g. Ndume particularly in rural communities where quality
Limited). Private sector involvement, especially in CSA agrochemicals, farm implements and equipment,
value chain development and improving availability of seeds, tree seedlings and other necessary inputs for
CSA inputs and equipment, was identified as an area some CSA practices are either not readily available
that could be enhanced and could support improved or are unaffordable. In many cases low-quality inputs
adoption of CSA practices. and implements are used, resulting in sub-optimal
results which ultimately do not favour the promotion
Based on the country studies it was found that different of climate-smart practices.
approaches are used for promoting climate-smart
agriculture in the three countries. However, there are some
common tried and tested approaches which include farmer “There is a general lack of quality
field schools (FFS), integrated watershed management,
agricultural inputs, particularly in rural
training of trainers (TOTs) and demonstrations. In some
communities where quality agrochemicals,
cases, faith-based approaches were used successfully, for
example the Farming God’s Way approach in Uganda. farm implements and equipment, seeds,
Table 6 indicates some of the commonly utilized CSA tree seedlings and other necessary inputs
promotion methods in the sub-region. for some CSA practices are either not
readily available or are unaffordable.”
7.2 Challenges to CSA Adoption and Promotion
in Eastern Africa
• Awareness and knowledge on climate-smart agriculture
While a number of CSA programmes and projects have among farmers, policy-makers, the media and the
been implemented across the three countries, adoption general public is limited and there are cases where
still remains low, partly on account of the following concepts have been misunderstood. This, coupled
challenges: with a lack of integration of CSA into the agricultural
• Climate-smart agriculture, as opposed to conventional extension system, means that adoption of some key
farming practices, is not adequately incorporated into CSA practices are likely to be low, especially among
national agricultural extension training and manuals, rural smallholder farming households.
and indeed the extension system as a whole. Thus • There are numerous climate-smart agriculture projects
while all three countries included in the study have and programmes across the Eastern Africa sub-
functioning national agricultural extension systems, region, ranging from policy work to research to on-
these are not geared towards CSA promotion, and the-ground promotion and implementation of CSA
hence the majority of smallholder farmers in the practices and technologies. However, in many cases
sub-region cannot easily adopt many of the practices. these programmes and projects are being implemented
• All three countries have a large population of in a fragmented manner, which poses a threat to the
agropastoralists who primarily practise free grazing. sustainability and impact of these initiatives. There is
This results in a number of challenges for CSA a need to harmonize the approach to the promotion
promotion and adoption, such as competition between of CSA as well as to strengthen the CSA coordination
crops and livestock for mulch, unsustainability of mechanism.
intercropping and green manure practices owing to the • Many of the projects have used a top-down approach to
preference of livestock to feed on the green manures sharing new technologies and practices that may have
(usually straight from the field, thus damaging crops), been successful elsewhere, but that are not necessarily

acceptable in the local context and disregard farmers’ incomes, building resilience and adapting to climate
local knowledge and preferences. Development, testing change, which are more beneficial and tangible to the
and sharing of climate-smart technologies should be farmers. Incorporating mitigation aspects into more
done in partnership with the farmers themselves so productive and resilient practices will then support
as to enhance adoption and sustainability. the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Farmers
• There is a need for more research on CSA in the sub- can be trained to realize that becoming more efficient
region, particularly with the aim of testing context and reducing waste, while reducing environmental
and location-specific practices for the various agro- impacts, also improves profitability.
ecologies, soil types, rainfall patterns, farming systems, • Many of the CSA projects are funded for a short
temperatures as well as moisture ranges. Action period only (two to five years), while long-term
research and field-based research are particularly (10 to 20 years) financial support is necessary to allow
desirable. That research which is already available farmers to grasp concepts fully as well as to realize
is often kept largely in the intellectual and scientific the benefits of the practices.
domains and does not always reach those who need • There is inadequate budgetary allocation to ensure
it the most, the smallholder farmers. fiscal support for the implementation of the various
• In some cases the CSA projects being promoted CSA-related policies present in the sub-region. In
over-emphasize the mitigation aspect of CSA many cases policies are not supported with financial
through agroforestry and promise funds for carbon allocations or financial plans. This may be on account
sequestration, which at times turn out to be very little, of limited funds available and competing priorities.
thus leading to disillusionment among the farmers. International partners are encouraged to support
In the context of the Eastern Africa sub-region, the the climate change adaptation and mitigation plans
focus needs to be on improving productivity and of countries in the sub-region.
©FAO/Ny You

• There is still limited and inadequate investment in CSA 7.3 Opportunities for CSA Promotion in Eastern
technologies such as water harvesting and irrigation Africa
in most of the sub-region. While there are a number
of efforts related to supporting water harvesting on There are a number of opportunities for the promotion,
both a small and large scale, these efforts need to be adoption and upscaling of CSA in the three study countries
stepped up, particularly since much of Eastern Africa and across the sub-region. These include the following:
is composed of arid and semi-arid lands, which are • There are a number of institutions, organizations,
prone to water shortages and droughts and where regional economic communities and government
most of the rainfall is lost through runoff. There is still departments involved in climate-smart agriculture
overdependence on rain-fed agriculture on the part in the sub-region. There is a need to ensure that
of smallholder farmers, rendering them vulnerable to these institutions, organizations and departments
weather variability and climate change. Practices such coordinate their efforts and conduct their work in a
as agroforestry require adequate water, especially in manner that adds value across the programmes and
the early stages from seedling propagation to planting. projects rather than duplicating or being in conflict
• Gender disparities in access to productive resources with one another.
and decision-making over land are also a challenge. • Local knowledge and coping strategies at the grassroots
Men and women often have differing priorities and level that are being used by farmers can be built upon
CSA promotion programmes and projects need to and strengthened. Many indigenous practices exist
take these into consideration. which can be documented and shared, or used as a
• Although the global carbon market is an opportunity basis on which to promote improved practices.
that, if well exploited, can yield benefits for smallholder • The fact that climate change is already being
farmers, participating in the carbon markets poses experienced in the form of increased weather
huge challenges to smallholder farmers. The primary variability and increased incidence and severity of
challenge facing farmers wishing to benefit from extreme weather events in Eastern Africa has increased
carbon offsets is the cost of measurement and the sense of urgency in tackling climate change among
verification of the change in carbon emissions as policy-makers, development practitioners and farmers
well as the relatively small amounts of money involved themselves. This presents an environment conducive
when considering the amount of land and effort to the promotion of CSA from grassroots level to
involved. national, regional and international level. However,
• One of the biggest challenges is that food-insecure the extent to which government goodwill is translated
farmers find it costly to invest in better land and into action on the ground is debatable, since many
agricultural management systems, which often have of the relevant policies, legislation documents and
slow returns on investments (three to five years). strategies are still in draft form or do not have clear
Many climate-smart agricultural practices require implementation or financing strategies.
establishment and maintenance costs and can take • Many of the countries in the sub-region still have
considerable time before farmers benefit from them. vast agricultural potential complemented by huge
Limited access to markets and capital compounds the irrigation potential. This potential needs to be fully
issues related to investments in improved agricultural exploited, particularly through investment in rainwater
practices and limits the ability of farmers to invest harvesting (small and large dams) and irrigation.
in practices that will raise their income in the long • There is a wide range of research projects undertaken
run and improve the sustainability and resilience of and technologies developed by agricultural research
their production systems. institutes in the sub-region, such as EIAR (Ethiopia),
NARO (Uganda) and KARO (Kenya), which can help
communities build resilience to droughts, floods,
“Gender disparities in access to diseases and pests. These technologies and research
results are, however, not widely applied by farmers and
productive resources and decision-making
in many cases farmers are not aware of the range of
over land are also a challenge. Men and
technologies and options available to them. There is
women often have differing priorities and immense opportunity to share these research results
CSA promotion programmes and projects and translate them into action on the ground.
need to take these into consideration.” • Carbon trading presents an opportunity, particularly
in forested areas of the sub-region. However, carbon

trade regulations could be modified to include the tree - Emerging regional markets made possible by
crops many farmers are planting (coffee, tea, mangoes, regional integration could provide expanded
etc.), while local governments and development agents input and output markets for CSA products.
should make an effort to encourage groups of farmers - The large natural resources base and existence of
to establish joint woodlots or community forests even several agro-ecological zones present an unlimited
in the absence of carbon funds, as these can provide opportunity for expansion and diversification of
other community benefits such as fuelwood, forage agricultural development activities.
and flood and erosion control. - Partnerships and strategic alliances can be formed
• There are opportunities for the promotion of green with national, regional and international research
technology, which could result in increased jobs and institutions, non-governmental organizations,
off-farm employment, particularly for the youth. agro-industries, commercial farmers and
These could include the production of conservation development agencies.
tillage equipment through training of local youths
as artisans, which in turn would help solve some of 7.4 Recommendations
the other constraints to the implementation of CSA,
such as the lack of access to CSA equipment. Based on the report findings, the following recommen-
• Opportunities exist in the expansion of production dations are made:
under intensive systems such as irrigation, greenhouse • Countries are at different levels of promotion and
systems and deep litter or cage systems with a view implementation of climate-smart agriculture. At the
to increasing productivity per unit and obviating the same time, while there are similarities in the contexts
need for opening up of large tracts for production of the three target countries for this study, there are
under rain-fed conditions. also many significant differences in terms of soils,
• Other opportunities include: climate, culture and finances, among other factors.
- Expansion of biogas technology among livestock Countries need to be supported based on their current
farmers to reduce demand on fuelwood and the status and needs as there is no blanket approach that
production of methane. can be used to support CSA across the sub-region.
- Promotion of beekeeping, which would in turn • A number of projects and programmes have been
increase demand for forage tree cover for the conducted focusing on the promotion of CSA. There
production of nectar. is now a need to focus more on the results of all this
- There are opportunities to revisit past research work with regard to adoption by farmers and long-
programmes and findings/technologies and term impact at grassroots level regarding the three
review them in light of climate changes that CSA pillars among those who have been sensitized,
have occurred. A recent example is the continued trained and supported to adopt CSA practices. This
research on coffee that has developed new varieties can be supported by the development of, and capacity
adapted to low-rainfall areas and is leading to an building in improved monitoring and evaluation
increase in coffee production. Similar examples systems for CSA adoption, as well as support to
exist in maize, pulses, sorghum, poultry and other countries to conduct CSA baseline studies, develop
farm enterprises. CSA databases and integrate CSA data collection into
- Information and communication technology can national agricultural surveys or censuses.
be used to promote CSA, for example the use of • CSA needs to be mainstreamed within national and
text messages to share information on innovative regional CAADP Compacts and National Agricultural
practices or to give weather advisory services to Investment Plans (NAIPs). This can be done through
smallholder farmers. the development of CSA investment frameworks,
- Government policies and regulatory frameworks the integration of CSA into new NAIPs and the
are increasingly recognizing the role of CSA as a screening of current NAIPS for CSA opportunities.
pathway to combating climate change. The exercise has already commenced in Eastern
- Increased investments in agriculture modernization Africa, with Uganda having been supported on this;
and commercialization offer opportunity for however, as per the desire of the regional economic
investments in climate-smart agriculture and communities (EAC in particular), the wish is for all
sustainable land management. countries to receive the same support and rise to the
same levels.

• More action research on key CSA practices such advocacy and sensitization on CSA for policy-makers,
as conservation agriculture, agroforestry, manure government departments, the private sector, the media
management and integrated soil fertility management and the farmers themselves.
(ISFM) is needed, particularly with the aim of testing • CSA stakeholders need to continue to work
context and agro-ecological-specific practices. Research together and ensure coordination of CSA activities
already available must be shared and scaled-up. at national and sub-regional level. This will help
• Value chain development for CSA inputs and outputs reduce duplication and support effectiveness and
such as seeds, chemicals and equipment as well as for sustainability of CSA programmes. The national
processing, use and sales of CSA products is needed climate-smart agriculture task forces in the sub-
across the sub-region. Specific CSA value chain studies region have an important role to play in this regard
for key CSA practices and key CSA commodities is and require support in their activities to coordinate
required and would assist in identifying constraints CSA at national level. National governments need to
and enabling factors for improvement of the CSA ensure that such structures are institutionalized within
value chain. Identifying CSA opportunities in selected government structures (as is being done by Uganda)
agricultural value chains could be another option and that they are supported politically and financially
whereby the value chain for selected commodities is to carry out their mandates. The Eastern Africa sub-
analysed through a CSA lens to identify opportunities regional CSA platform must also be supported so
for adaptation and mitigation. as to promote coordination and knowledge sharing
• Despite a great deal of information on CSA being between the countries.
shared across the sub-region, this is an aspect • There is a need to develop standardized tools and
that needs to continue through awareness-raising, guidelines across the sub-region on different CSA

practices and technologies and support capacity done in partnership with the relevant government
building on their use in the different countries. This ministries and departments to ensure ownership,
process is currently ongoing for sub-Saharan Africa and hence uptake.
with the development of the CSA Practical Guide • Agricultural research institutions should invest in
through the Africa CSA Alliance. However, even CSA demonstration sites across the country to show
within Eastern Africa and within the countries in the location-specific good practices in CSA that can be
sub-region standardized tools, guides and manuals easily adopted by farmers. This can be complemented
on CSA promotion need to be developed. by the establishment of community-based resource
• Given the ambitious targets set by the countries in centres where communities can access information
the sub-region related to GHG mitigation through on various CSA technologies and practices.
the INDCS as well as national policies, programmes • Universities and tertiary-level education institutions
and strategies, there is a need for availing of financial need to be supported to develop CSA curriculum and
support for climate-smart agriculture. International training courses so as to enhance the knowledge of
climate-funding instruments can play a key role in graduates in this area. This can be initiated by first
this regard and should be leveraged on the basis that conducting an assessment of knowledge, status and
investments in CSA provide triple wins that benefit uptake of CSA in the tertiary education curriculum
all parties involved. The available sources of funding at national and sub-regional level.
include GEF funds as well as UNFCCC funds that • Lastly, one of the key issues relates to financing – while
are managed by the GEF, i.e. Special Climate Change the governments of the host countries must make every
Fund and Least Developed Countries Fund. Other effort to ensure sufficient budgetary allocation for the
multilateral donors and international development development of climate-smart agriculture, attention
agencies will also have a role to play. also needs to be given to identifying investments
• Stakeholders should improve monitoring systems to outside of government through bi- and multilateral
track the multiple benefits of climate-smart agriculture development financing sources that target the same,
including benefits to adaptation, mitigation and or related, activities.
food security. To this end, there is a need to have
sub-regional and national level tools and standards Overall many strides are being made in the Eastern
for the monitoring and tracking of the adoption of Africa sub-region in terms of CSA promotion and the
various CSA practices in Eastern Africa, as well as countries involved in the study should be commended
the results of the adoption in terms of improved food for the efforts being undertaken. However, a lot still
production, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and needs to be done and support from all stakeholders as
overall resilience of people and ecosystems. well as international, regional and national partners
• There is a need to build the capacity of extension is called upon to transform the agricultural systems
workers and support extension departments in Eastern in the target countries into climate-smart agricultural
Africa to integrate CSA into their extension package. systems that contribute to national food security by
This could be done through the development of CSA sustainably increasing productivity and incomes; building
extension manuals and training syllabi or through resilience and adapting to climate change; and developing
the updating of current extension manuals so that opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
they include CSA components. This work must be compared with expected trends.

References
1. Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance. http:// 14. East African Community. 2011. Policy and Strategy
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content/1/1/12 Centre, Nazreth.
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to March 1, 2001, Melkasa Research Centre, Nazreth.
©FAO

Annexure 1: Summary of Hudumak wa Mkulima
(HKM) 25 Project in Kenya
The Hudumakwa Mkulima 25 project seeks to scale up are about one million hectares in Africa and less than
the adoption of conservation agriculture by one million 40 000 in Kenya held up primarily by poor access to
farm households in Kenya by 2025. The project drivers are services and negative mind-sets. The main constraints
built on the fundamentals of mechanization of smallholder to upscaling and adoption of conservation agriculture
farming; adoption of climate-smart agriculture by clusters upon which HKM is built are:
of farmers; and engagement of the for-profit agribusiness • Inadequate policies and strategies for implementation
innovations of the private sector to enhance access of conservation agriculture;
to services along the value chain. Consequently, in • Inadequate and inefficient research on conservation
its two five-year phases, the project will contribute to agriculture;
eliminating hunger, halving poverty, inducing resilience • Inadequate information and knowledge on
to climate change, and attracting and creating decent conservation agriculture;
rural employment, particularly for youths and women. • General lack of awareness and understanding of the
potential of conservation agriculture in generating
This project has been prepared as part of a pan-African employment, agribusiness, food security and
initiative led by the African Conservation Tillage Network environmental conservation;
(ACT) with the support of the Government of Kenya • Traditional barriers and/or negative mind-sets, with
(Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries) and farmers stuck in traditional ways of farming; and
other partners to realize the CAADP goal of a six-percent • Inadequate access to conservation agriculture inputs,
annual growth rate in agriculture with a view to realizing equipment and services.
food security on the African continent. Conservation
agriculture is based on three principles: minimum To address the above challenges, the project proposes
disturbance to the soil (no-till or minimum tillage); the development of an infrastructure of services and
permanent soil cover; and crop rotations/associations. human resources that will facilitate the emergence
Conservation agriculture is now practised on over 150 of entrepreneurs to provide sustainable conservation
million hectares worldwide and is expanding at the rate agriculture services to farmers and other stakeholders
of seven million hectares annually. Unfortunately, there along the relevant value chains. This, in turn, should
lead to transforming conservation agriculture into an
agribusiness as it relates to farmer practices and users of
conservation agriculture, as well as to service providers
as suppliers of services. The conceptual approach is to
move away from the provision of subsidized inputs to
farmers in favour of developing commercial linkages
with service providers.
The infrastructure of services and human resources

includes support for research and development,
development of standard curricula for the training of
farmers and key stakeholders along the value chain,
establishing strategic linkages with key support services
that include financial, insurance and manufacturing
institutions, and the engagement of young people through

schools to inculcate conservation agriculture thinking
and practices for posterity.
For more information, please visit: www.act-africa.org

Annexure 2: Selected C ase Studies of Integrated
Watershed Management in Uganda
1. Katongelo Watershed Management – Kyebe 3. Rubangano Watershed Management – Mwizi
The site is very steep and stony and appears to be The terrain of the area is extremely hilly, but the land
extremely difficult to manage. Despite this, the appears to be generally fertile. Like the other areas, the
farmers have recognized the importance of ensuring farmer field school approach has considerably improved
sustainable management of their resources and improving the farmers’ understanding of the problems associated
productivity of the four major crops – coffee, bananas, with farming in this area. The farmers appear to be very
cassava and sweet potatoes. Other crops include beans and motivated and well organized. They organize regular
groundnuts. The project provides only coffee seedlings. meetings to discuss progress and identify new problems.
Farmers obtain other planting materials from previous The main crops grown are bananas and coffee. Other
crops or from other farmers. They work in groups and crops include sweet potatoes, maize, beans and cabbages.
meet regularly to identify problems (which vary from Because farming is largely on the steep hill slopes, farmers
farm to farm) and help one another to ensure that a have welcomed the concept of CSA. The main practice
given task is performed. includes planting grass strips, terracing, and making
trenches in combination with grass strips. Elephant grass
2. Sanga-Kiruhura Watershed Management from the strips are cut and carried to be used to feed
animals (goats), whose droppings are collected and used
Sanga-Kiruhura is an area where the management of in the preparation of manure. The trenches are about 60
natural resources is clearly at an advanced level. The cm wide and 60 cm deep across the slope. The soils are
reasons are not clear, but the farmers are definitely typically put on the upper side of the trench (referred to as
motivated. The area is a good example of where the Fanya Juu). These are reinforced by planting grass bands
principles of CSA are very well integrated to ensure on the side where soils are heaped. Fanya Juu prevent
minimum soil loss and improved productivity. Nearly all the soil from being washed down the slope when it rains
the banana plantations are very well mulched and there are and also increase infiltration. Mulching of banana is a
various combinations of intercropping, including banana/ universal practice. Other CSA-related practices include
coffee; maize/cabbages; Calliandra trees with cabbages. planting trees and preparing manure. Manure is prepared
in large trenches, called Orusaniya, or large plates which
Many farmers grow crops and keep cattle. Farmers have feed at least four stools of bananas.
well-organized paddocks and well-established pastures,
among others of Rhodes grass and lablabi. In the case of
Sanga, farmers produce lablab as forage but in addition,
lablab provides live mulch and improves soil organic
matter. On steep hills, many farmers have planted trees
(largely pines). Because of the effective integration of
the key principles of CSA, soil erosion is largely under
control and the land appears to be very productive, as
evidenced by the large bunches of banana. The wide-
spread practice of mulching is an indication that farmers
are well aware of the benefits. There are attempts to
©FAO/Ny You
heal gullies – situations where land with gullies is being

reclaimed by planting perennial crops like sugar cane
and building cross ridges to check the speed of water.
i Lablab, sometimes called dolicos beans, is a species of beans in the family Fabaceae and is cultivated in many countries in the tropics
for food or forage.

Annexure 3: Faith-based CSA-Related Activities
by UFNEA Uganda
The Uganda Faiths Network on Environmental Action Selected UFNEA achievements

(UFNEA) is a voluntary, not-for-profit network of
faith groups and faith-based organizations in Uganda Since the launch of UFNEA in October 2013, the
that are committed to protecting the environment and network has implemented several activities, including
promoting sustainable development and agriculture, the following:
according to their own beliefs, teachings and practices. • Tree growing by each of the founding members
The network is focusing on advocacy, practical approaches, and their various constituencies such as churches,
partnership development and capacity building. UFNEA mosques, target areas and organizations.
draws its inspiration from the Alliance of Religions and • Environmental sermons in places of worship,
Conservation (ARC), a UK-based charity that works particularly on Fridays and Sundays, to encourage
with 11 major faiths worldwide to help them develop the faithful to engage in environmental activities in
environmental programmes based on their beliefs, their homes and their places of influence.
practices and teachings. • Awareness workshops at village level, in schools and
tertiary institutions.
In 2010 ARC began working with Christian, Muslim • Energy-conservation initiatives such as fireless
and Hindu groups in sub-Saharan Africa on sustainable cookers, improved stoves and briquette making to
land and water management. As a result, in 2012, 27 conserve energy by reducing the amount of charcoal
faith groups from 11 countries launched long-term and firewood used at household level.
plans on the environment – action that each faith group • Water conservation initiatives, such as the bio-sand
pledged to take over the next seven years. These groups filter and water-harvesting techniques.
included a number of Ugandan faith-based organizations. • The faith-based Education for Sustainable Development
Therefore, a faith network in Uganda will enable faith tool kit launched at a workshop. The tool kit was
groups to develop closer partnerships with the Ugandan reviewed by the National Curriculum Development
government and other stakeholders to harness efforts in Centre and a teachers’ workshop was held in October
sustainable land and water management. The network is 2014.
registered by the registrar of companies under number • Conservation agriculture, Farming God’s Way and
174057 and was launched on 30 October 2013. Islamic Farming: UFNEA, in its effort to carry
out agricultural extension, has been promoting
UFNEA’s mission is “to inspire faith groups in Uganda into and conducting training in Farming God’s Way
strengthening awareness and action on the environment (FGW), Islamic Farming (IF) and conservation
and sustainable agriculture”. UFNEA’s partners include agriculture (CA) to small-scale farmers in a number
MAAIF, Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), of communities in Uganda with the aim of increasing
the Jane Goodall Institute and the Kenya Organization agricultural productivity and improving peoples’
for Environmental Education. livelihoods. The principles remain the same across
all three techniques. These are:
- No ploughing (minimal disturbance of the soil
“UFNEA is a voluntary, not-for-profit or no tillage) – the practice of ploughing destroys
network of faith groups and faith‑based soil structure, including the micro-organisms that
organizations in Uganda that are live in the soil, leading to erosion and rapid water
loss.
committed to protecting the environment
- Mulching to minimize water loss.
and promoting sustainable development - Not burning the crop residues.
and agriculture, according to their own - Practising crop rotations.
beliefs, teachings and practices.”

Table 7: Training in Farming God’s Way (FGW), Islamic Farming (IF) and conservation agriculture (CA)
Number of Training Training

Name of course Group(s) trained participants dates provider
Conservation UFNEA 22 March 2014 MAAIF
agriculture
School Namusera UMEA Schools April to Hear Uganda
demonstration Buziga Islamic September
plots 2014
Kabasanda prison
Kabasanda Technical Institute
Kikoto Masaka Secondary School A Rocha Uganda
Buiyta, Mukono
Wakatayi Luweero
Nama UMEA – planted maize and beans
Kisowera Church of Uganda Secondary
School planted vegetables
Farming God’s Gomba Women Environment Project 41 August 2013 A Rocha Uganda
Way (GWEP)
Uganda Muslim Women Association 73 August 2013 A Rocha Uganda
(UMWA)
Mukono – Nalya Kampungu village, 21 August 2014 A Rocha Uganda
Bivva Muntuyo Women’s group (BMW)
Mukono – Nsumba Village, Kyagwe 23 August 2014 A Rocha Uganda
Buikwe – Lugasa group 28 August 2014 A Rocha Uganda
Islamic Farming Muslim leaders and farmers were 40 August 2014 Alliance of
trained in Islamic Farming. They came Religions and
from Mukono, Luweero, Wakiso and Conservation
Butambala. and A Rocha
Uganda
Churches Lugasa Full Gospel – Nakifuma C.O.U ≥100 2014 A Rocha Uganda
St. Stephen Kisowera, C.O.U – Kamuli,
C.O.U
Namirembe Diocese – All Saints
Cathedral Nakasero and Iganga

Selected photographs of Farming God’s Way by the Gomba Women Environment Project (GWEP)
and Uganda Muslim Women Association (UMWA)
©UFNEA
©UFNEA
Members of the Gomba Women Environment Project Holing out for the maize garden
(GWEP) clear the land for a demonstration garden
©UFNEA
©UFNEA
Holing out for the bush bean garden Mulching the garden
©UFNEA
©UFNEA
Gardens in Gomba under Farming God’s Way Gardens in Gomba under Farming God’s Way

Selected photographs of Farming God’s Way by the Gomba Women Environment Project (GWEP)
and Uganda Muslim Women Association (UMWA)
©UFNEA
©UFNEA
Islamic Farming training at Arch Apartments in Ntinda, Kampala in 2014
©UFNEA
©UFNEA
Farming God’s Way training in Mukono A Farming God’s Way garden in Mpoma
©UFNEA
©UFNEA
Farming God’s Way on maize and beans in Kakiri, Wakiso Farming God’s Way on sweet potato in Kakiri, Wakiso
District District

Annexure 4: Conservation Agriculture Training
Conducted by Makobu Enterprises in E thiopia
(2012 – 2014)
No of
districts
Name of zonal (woredas) No of Training
Date of training administration covered Venue participants cost21
Feb. 28, 2012 South Western 11 BachoWoliso Farmers Coop. 87 36 769.09
Shoa Zone Unions Assembly Hall,
TulluBollo
May 15, 2012 East Wollega 8 Desalegn Hotel 53 28 995.58
July 20, 2012 South Western 5 BachoWoliso Farmers Coop. 33 6 122.50
Shoa Zone Unions Assembly Hall,
TulluBollo
Nov. 30, 2012 West Hararghe 14 AsebeTeferi, Chiro 63 26 406.37
March 4, 2013 East Wellega 7 East Wellega Zone Bureau of 53 30 584.02
Agriculture Hall, Nekempte
April 29, 2013 East Wellega 7 East Wellega Zone Bureau of 68 40 209.28
Agriculture Hall, Nekempte
Nov. 7, 2013 West Shoa Zone 18 Ambo 85 31 114.76
Nov. 21, 2013 East Showa 2 Debrezeit 65 14 037.23
Nov. 26, 2013 Arsi Zone 9 Asella 64 15 970.91
Dec. 6, 2013 East Showa Zone 1 Bishoftu 39 10 858.26
(Alema Farm)
Dec. 17, 2013 West Shewa Zone 1 Bako 71 17 208.83
(Bako)
January, 2014 North Showa 14 Fitche 54 15 155.17
Zone
March 6, 2014 Finfine Zuria 6 Holeta 62 14 154.71
Special Zone
May 23, 2014 Oromia Zone 3 Kemise 61 20 714.79
May 28, 2014 Arsi Zone 1 Gobessa 66 15 555.14
(Shirika)
June 27, 2014 Bale Zone 10 Robe 67 25 690.06
Total 117 991 349 546.70
21 All training was conducted at Makobu Enterprises’ expense in conjunction with zonal administrations and Makobu’s area
distributors. All costs in Ethiopian Birr (ETB).

This publication was commissioned under the
auspices of the project “FAO technical support to
the COMESA-EAC-SADC program on climate
change adaptation and mitigation in Eastern
and Southern Africa (OSRO/RAF/307/COM)”.
The study goal was to consult with stakeholders,
including government departments, the private
sector, civil society organizations, development
partners, research institutions and NGOs involved
in current and past climate-smart agriculture
initiatives in the Eastern Africa (EA) sub-region,
to map, review, analyse and synthesize major past
and current CSA initiatives, in order to document
the key stakeholders involved, the policies in place
and the constraints, challenges, opportunities and
enabling factors to adoption of climate-smart
agriculture practices and technologies in the sub-
region.
For further information, please contact:
Edward Kilawe
Forestry Officer
FAO Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa
Tel: +251 11 647 8888
E-mail: [email protected]
Sebastian Grey
Natural Resources Officer
FAO Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa
Tel: +251 11 647 8888
E-mail: [email protected]
www.fao.org
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Agriculture Scoping Study:

Artful Eyes Productions Ltd

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | iii

iv | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | v

vi | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

ACT African Conservation Tillage Network

ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | vii

viii | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | ix

ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | xi

The study also showed that various models and approaches

There are numerous opportunities to promote CSA in

of CSA in new agriculture-related policies like the soil

xii | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | 1

Consolidation of a variety of information on technologies, practices, policies and

Figure 1: Steps in undertaking the study

2 | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

The Eastern African Context

ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | 3

Greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalent) in seven Eastern African countries

Manure applied to soils 4% 2% Manure management

4 Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance, June 2014

4 | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | 5

6 | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

Source: Climate-Smart Agriculture: What is it? Why is it needed? (http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4226e.pdf)

6 Climate-smart Agriculture Sourcebook, FAO 2013

ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | 7

Source: Climate-Smart Agriculture: What is it? Why is it needed? (http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4226e.pdf)

8 | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

Another important emissions reduction pathway is through increasing the carbon-sequestration

Source: Climate-Smart Agriculture: What is it? Why is it needed? (http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4226e.pdf)

To support CSA, policy and financing systems will need

to achieve sustainable productivity increases, thereby

ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | 9

10 | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

Country Study 1: E thiopia

8 Identifying opportunities for climate-smart agriculture investments in Africa

ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | 11

Highland mixed agriculture 95% of the annual gross total

Figure 3: Importance of smallholder farming systems in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has the largest livestock population in Africa and

Ethiopia’s annual GHG emissions were estimated at 150

sectors respectively. In agriculture, livestock production

12 | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

Manure left on pasture 37% 53% Enteric fermentation

Manure applied to soils 1% 2% Manure management

Figure 4: GHG emissions in Ethiopian agriculture in 2012 (FAOSTAT, 2015)

ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | 13

many organizations having conducted or being

14 | EASTERN AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SCOPING STUDY

ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND UGANDA | 15