article · Cogent Food & Agriculture
Dairy climate-smart practices can help protect farmers from the impacts of climate change, yet adoption rates remain low. An evaluation of 665 dairy farmers across selected counties in Kenya examined the factors influencing learning, initial uptake, and the intensity of adopting the least-practised techniques. The findings indicate that while learning helps encourage adoption, overall intensity remains very low. Accessible extension services and active milk market participation positively influence learning. Furthermore, frequent extension visits, keeping farm records, and higher climate change knowledge correlate with both adoption and greater intensity. Intensity is also driven by higher market participation and the perception that these practices improve resilience. To boost uptake, recommendations emphasise strengthening pluralistic extension systems, increasing farmer contacts, offering training in record keeping and climate change, and facilitating commercial market access.
Climate change poses severe risks to agriculture. Understanding how dairy farmers discover and implement climate-smart practices helps policymakers and agricultural organisations design better support programmes. By improving extension outreach, business training, and market access, development initiatives can more effectively help farmers build long-term resilience against climatic shocks.
This applied research provides evidence for agricultural advisory providers, dairy cooperatives, and agribusinesses seeking to deliver climate-smart services and training to smallholders. While the findings reflect applied field research rather than a commercial product, they can directly inform the design of fee-for-service extension programmes, farm record-keeping tools, and market integration initiatives targeting commercial dairy farmers.
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The enhanced uptake of dairy climate-smart practices (DCSPs) is important to cushion farmers against the effects of climate change. However, uptake remains low. Besides, there is limited evidence on the learning phase preceding adoption under a pluralistic extension system, while intensity is treated as a one-off process. Therefore, this study aimed to assess factors influencing learning about least adopted DCSPs through different extension providers and, evaluate determinants of adoption and intensity of adoption of least adopted DCSPs. The triple hurdle model was used to model adoption conditional on learning and intensity of adoption, using a sample of 665 dairy farmers from selected counties in Kenya. Although learning facilitated adoption, intensity of uptake was very low. Ease of accessing extension services and milk market participation influenced learning positively. Keeping dairy records, increase in knowledge about climate change, higher number of extension visits were positively associated with both adoption and intensity of adoption of least adopted DCSPs. Additionally, perception that DCSPs enhanced resilience and increased level of milk market participation were important determinants of intensity of adoption. Therefore, to foster intensified promotion and intensified uptake of the least adopted DCSPs, it is imperative to strengthen pluralistic extension system, increase extension contacts with farmers, train farmers on climate change and record keeping, facilitate market participation and ensure DCSPs contribute to improved resilience. This would contribute to the realization of sustainable development goal 13 on climate action and the country’s climate change commitments and agriculture development strategy.
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DOI: 10.1080/23311932.2024.2330182
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