Constraints limiting the improvement of manure management as climate smart technology for smallholder dairy farmers

Abstract

The global quest for a sustainable bio-economy has brought to the fore importance of engaging agricultural systems in the production and in practice change. There have been issues limiting farmers from improving the practice of manure management as smart climate technology. The objective of this paper was to highlight the constraints, type, and valuation of manure types and information sources that smallholder dairy farmers find it useful to change practices regarding manure management. In this present study, 336 smallholder dairy farmers were surveyed on various constraints the farmers faced and, on the type, and value of different manure types and information on manure management received by the farmers. The study used descriptive statistics for the variables and compared them using frequency tables. The key findings from this study would support information to stakeholders in inducing climate-smart manure management practices as a climate adaptation practice. The study highlights the type of information systems that determine areas for further investigation as drivers of practice change for smallholder dairy farmers. The paper focuses on these constraints and synthesizes them into factors that determine practice change on manure management by smallholder dairy farmers in order to improve manure management.

Accommodating diverse actors and practices in the climate-development nexus : The case of Kenya’s dairy sector

“…Second, low uptake of having a biodigester and practicing feed conservation across most households indicates that these practices require (labor, finance) investments that are unrealistic or are currently not worth the perceived benefits. The same holds for manure management practices in Nandi and Bomet (see detailed elaboration on technical and socio-economic constraints to improve manure management in Nandi by Owino et al, 2020a). Again, before fixating on smallholders' uptake of these practices, LEDS efforts could be on further elaborating more structural reasons for generally low uptake.…”

“…Mitigating GHG emissions from dairy production involves improving feed quality, managing manure, and enhancing animal husbandry (Ericksen & Crane, 2018). However, dairy management varies from extensive to intensive systems (Odero-Waitituh, 2017), including differences in feeding and manure management practices (Owino et al, 2020a;Ndung'u, 2021). This diversity stems from a mix of agro-ecological, socio-cultural, economic, and institutional conditions, embedding practices in their regions (Descheemaeker et al, 2016).…”

Achieving low emission development : Anticipating alignment between global strategies and local realities in the Tanzanian dairy sector

“…Cluster analysis was performed using spatially explicit data on rainfall, temperature and elevation. These variables are known to shape dairy farming suitability and systems (e.g., Jesse et al, 2020). To identify the appropriate number of clusters per district, the "natural breaks" feature on QGIS was used.…”