The debate around the role that agriculture should play in mitigating climate change and sequestering greenhouse gases is politically complex and technically complicated. In many countries, and particularly in developing countries with a large smallholder population, the agricultural sector faces competing priorities, such as national food security goals, poverty alleviation, addressing natural resource degradation and adapting to the already visible effects of climate change.

Goat producers in Inhassoro follow traditional management practices that lead to low supply of low quality goats. This has negative impacts on profitability, and on market access. Traders who buy in the Inhassoro locality buy only small volumes, and buyers from external markets are unaware of potential market supply in Inhassoro. This interaction of production constraints and limited information flows in the value chain was addressed using a system dynamics model for various commercialization scenarios.

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-

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.