The Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project (KACP), developed by the Vi Agroforestry programme, receives mitigation funding from the World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund for soil carbon sequestration and above-ground sequestration in trees. Apart from providing farmers with a small sum of extra cash, the switch to climate-smart agricultural practices has had the additional benefits of increasing crop yields as well as improving farmer’s resilience to climate change. According to a recent World Bank commissioned study, the crop yield increases alone are worth US$ 200-400/ha/year. In KACP, Vi Agroforestry and the BioCarbon Fund has developed the Sustainable Agricultural Land Management (SALM) methodology. A model approach to measuring soil carbon sequestration is being used, which has been approved by the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) agency. SALM is a public good, free for any organization to use. However, concerns have been raised, notably by the International Agricultural Trade Policy Institute (IATP), about the adequacy of a carbon market approach to financing a shift to sustainable agriculture. This event will also discuss these concerns.

1. How can mitigation funding benefit smallholders’ food
security and build climate resilience?
Olivia Taghioff

2. Evidence of impact
• Please give up to three bullets on evidence of
the impact of your best practice – ideally this
should be quantitative data
1. A The yields of Kenya Agricultural Carbon
Project farmers have increased by 15-30%.
2. B The adoption rate of Sustainable Agricultural
Land Management (SALM) is high, 1000 farmer
groups and about 20,000 farmers since 2009
3. C SALM practices are effective in terms of
mitigation, as evidenced by the VCS approval

3. Going to scale
• Please give up to three bullets on messages on
what is needed to take your best practice to
scale e.g. What policy change is required –
What investment is needed – and who needs to
take action.
1. A Combining multiple finance streams, public
and private, to achieve food security,
adaptation and mitigation objectives
2. B Effective national extension services
3. C Better organisation of farmers, from village
cooperatives to the national level