This report contains information on a field assessment of risks associated with climate variability in eastern Kenya. It also includes the compilations of climate related agricultural risks gathered from a Kamba radio dialogue with local communities of Eastern Kenya, aired from January to April 2012. It highlights the significant potential in the region for mitigating climate change through improved management of agricultural land and crop and livestock husbandry practices, as well as on tapping into the wide range of traditional knowledge of the local communities.

Agriculture remains vital to the economy of most African countries and its development

has significant implications for food security and poverty reduction in the region. Increase

in agricultural production over the past decades has mainly been due to land area expansion,

with very little change in production techniques and limited improvement in yields.

Currently one in four people remains malnourished in Africa. CSA integrates all three dimensions of sustainable development and is aimed at (1)

To ensure a food-secure future, farming must become climate resilient. Around the world, governments and communities are adopting innovations that are improving the lives of millions while reducing agriculture’s climate footprint. These successful examples show the many ways climate-smart agriculture can take shape, and should serve as inspiration for future policies and investments.

The livestock sector is one of the major contributors in agriculture, by some estimates

contributing up to 18% of the global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Of this, about one

third is reported to be due to land use change associated with livestock production, another

one third is nitrous oxide from manure and slurry management, and roughly 25% is attributed

to methane emissions from ruminant digestion. Recent analysis suggests that developing

world regions contribute about two thirds of the global emissions from ruminants, with sub-

Smallholder farmers in Uganda face a wide range of agricultural production risks, with climate change and variability presenting new risks and vulnerabilities. Climate related risks such as prolonged dry seasons have become more frequent and intense with negative impacts on agricultural livelihoods and food security.