Climate-smart approaches have gained momentum in tropical, agricultural development. However, to date, few studies have examined whole-farm greenhouse gas balances in smallholder crop-livestock systems at scales in which decisions are taken.

A new study examining how current agricultural intensification trends and processes affect whole-farm greenhouse gas balances in smallholder farming systems has just been published with the World Agroforestry Centre.The study, “Farm-scale greenhouse gas balances, hotspots and uncertainties in smallholder crop-livestock systems in Central Kenya,” aimed to quantify greenhouse gas balances at farm-scale, identify greenhouse gas hotspots and assess mitigation options in coffee-dairy farms undergoing agricultural intensification in Central Kenya.

One of the very few of its kind, the study highlights a number of areas that need to be addressed in identifying climate smart options for the sector. These include the need for understanding whole-farm GHG balances; knowledge of net sources of greenhouse gas at farm-scale; types of farm management practices that can determine greenhouse gas balances at farm scale, and the requirements necessary to improve greenhouse gas estimations for better farm strategies in smallholder crop-livestock systems in Central Kenya.

“Options represent a diversity of opportunity to meet a diversity of needs and contexts”

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This work was conducted as part of a PhD thesis project supported by the Agricultural Transformation by Innovation (AGTRAIN) Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate Programme, funded by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency ( EACEA) of the European Commission. The CGIAR Research Programmes on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Low Emissions Development Flagship, Forest Tree and Agriculture(FTA), the French agricultural research and international cooperation (CIRAD) and the AS4FOOD project of the African Union also supported the research.

Ortiz-Gonzalo, D., Vaast, P., Oelofse, M., De Neergaard, A., Albrecht, A., Rosenstock, T.S., 2017. Farm-scale greenhouse gas balances, hotspots and uncertainties in smallholder crop-livestock systems in Central Kenya. 248, 58­70. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2017.06.002