AMBITIONS AND CHALLENGES REGARDING
LOW EMISSIONS LIVESTOCK SECTOR IN KENYA
ROBIN M. MBAE
CLIMATE CHANGE UNIT
STATE DEPARTMENT OF LIVESTOCK
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE,LIVESTOCK AND FISHERIES
2nd July 2018
1

LOCATION OF ARID
AND SEMI ARID
LANDS OF KENYA
KENYA’S LIVESTOCK SECTOR
Livestock production in Kenya is a major economic and social activity for the communities that live
in the high rainfall areas for dairy production and in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALS) for meat
production. Its contributions to the economy of the country is well as follows:
 25m total cattle population
 12% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP);
 50% of agricultural labour force;
 80% of the country is ASALs where 60% of livestock is found, supporting over 10
million people as the only source of livelihood
 90% contributes of emissions in agriculture sector

Livestock production systems in Kenya:
Pastoralism(Extensive, meat product)-60%
Ranching(meat/milk products) -10%
Semi–Intensive (Milk product) -20%
Zero grazing (Intensive, Milk product) -10%

Agriculture Sector Emissions
4
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
2000 2005 2010
GHGEmissionsMTCO2e
Nitrogen from Animal
Waste Management
BurningCrop Residues
SoilNitrogen
LivestockManure
Management
Savanna Burning
LivestockEnteric
Fermentation
Ref: Kenya SNC, 2015

Agriculture Sector Emission Projections
5
0
5
10
15
20
25
2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
GHGEmissionsMTCO2e
Nitrogen from Animal
Waste Management
BurningCrop Residues
Soil Nitrogen
Livestock Manure
Management
Savanna Burning
Livestock Enteric
Fermentation

 GHGs are emitted in the Livestock sector from four main sources:
1. Enteric fermentation from Domestic Livestock (CH4 emissions due
to digestive processes in ruminants and non-ruminants
domesticated animals)
2. Manure management of Domestic Livestock (CH4 emissions from
manure accumulated under confinement, N2O emissions from
manure treated
3. Agricultural soils (N2O emissions from fertilizers, manure, crop
residues etc.)
4. Prescribed burning of Savanna
(Ref: Kenya SNC 2015, National consultant)
Livestock sector Emissions Overview
6

MHJNBIMAIN KEY SOURCE OF EMMISSION IS ENTERIC FERMENTATION (80%)
3.A.1Enteric
Fermentation CH4
Livestock
N2O
3.A.2Manure
Management
CH4
Livestock emissions

KEY KENYA POLICY DOCUMENTS
Year Title
2010 National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS)
2012 Adaptation Analysis Report (ATAR)
2013 National Climate Change Action Plan 2013-2017 (NCCAP, under review)
2015 National Adaptation Plan 2015-2030 (NAP)
2015 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)
2016 Climate Change Act and Policy
2017 Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Strategy (2017-2026)
2017 Kenya Climate Finance Policy
2018 Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture implementation Framework 2018-
2030)

AGRICULTURE IN KENYA’S NDC
Kenya seeks to abate its GHG emissions by 30%
by 2030 relative to the BAU scenario of 143
MtCO2e.
In agriculture, the implementation will be in line
with the National CSA Implementation
Framework.
On adaptation, as a minimal contributor to global
GHG emissions, Kenya places significant priority
on adapting to the effects of climate change.
Enhance the resilience of the agriculture, livestock
and fisheries value chains by promoting climate
smart agriculture and livestock development
programmes

CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTATION OF NDC IN
AGRICULTURE
I. High cost of technology and capital investment
II. Lack of Information, understanding and
documentation
III. Lack of quantifiable adaptation baselines due
to unpredictable weather patterns
IV. Unavailability and low development of activity
data required for emissions measurement and
quantification

DAIRY NAMA TRANSFORMATIVE AGENDA
AIM
Kenya’s dairy sector is transformed into a low emission and climate resilient
development pathway while providing the livelihood of dairy producers
FOCUS
Enhancement of on-farm productivity(Finance &Extension)
Energy use efficiency in processing
Support & promotion of Biogas use in households
Commercial fodder supply
Expected emission reductions total 8.80 million tCO2e from the
following sources:
_Increased dairy productivity (152,700 households): 4.14 M tCO2eq
_Energy efficiency in processing (151 facilities): 2.96 M tCO2eq
_Household biogas adoption (20,000 households): 0.98 M tCO2eq

KENYA’S INITIATIVES IN DEVELOPMENT OF
GHG INVENTORIES, RATIONALE
12
 Meeting obligations under the
UNFCCC
 Assessing the effectiveness
of policies and measures
 Making long-term emission
projections and develop
strategies measures
 Providing the foundation for
carbon investment, emission
trading schemes – pricing
carbon 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
EmissionsMtonCO2-eq.

CHALLENGES
• Limited resources for field data
collection (Herd population,
characteristics, feed intake,,)
• Limited skills and knowledge amongst
officers dealing with data collection
• Limited application of ICT systems
and modern technology
• Shortage of field staff at county level
13

CURRENT APPROACH
• Use Tier 1 data in carrying out GHG
inventories- Use administrative data collected
by county governments staff.
• They are compiled and validated with KNBS
• Released as official statistics to stakeholders
14

PROPOSED APPROACH
Use Tier 2 and 3 data in carrying out GHG
inventories
• Require more detailed data – Measures emission
intensities
• More important as Kenya implements proposed
Dairy NAMA (At full proposal stage)
• Already held two Tier 2 meetings with key
stakeholders and partners
15

HOW WE PLAN TO IMPROVE GHG INVENTORY
IN LIVESTOCK SECTOR
• Capacity building on Tier 2 - Already held
two national workshops with stakeholders on
development GHG inventory
• Resource mobilization to carry out data
collection on Livestock – In progress is National
Farmer Registration to be done by the Ministry
of Agriculture and Irrigation; livestock data will
be included.
• Census – periodic exercise to get the frame
(2019 census). KNBS is planning for KHPC and
mapping is on going, livestock data included

HOW WE PLAN TO IMPROVE GHG INVENTORY
IN LIVESTOCK SECTOR
• Sample surveys – Stratified based on production system
e.g. Dairy production system (baseline survey started),
pastoral systems , etc. Expected to be done after KHPC in
2019. We expect to get data on production systems,
herd/flock structure, feeds and feed intake
• Research data – production parameters (collaborate with
KALRO, ILRI, Academia). ILRI and KALRO are doing
research on methane emission factors and feed intake for
livestock in Kenya
• Preparation of a work plan with key partners and
collaborators, we have developed a work plan to identify
,collate and use the existing data source to use in
quantification of Tier 2 emissions for Dairy,by early 2019.17

KEY MESSAGES
Kenya intends to Start with a simple
structure and use some default values as a
way to initiating inventory on tier 2.
Technical capacity/assistance is key to
accelerating use of accurate and advanced
data in livestock emissions inventories
Learning from best examples builds
synergy and encourages all to improve
their MRV systems

END
THANK YOU
Asante sana