Blog Climate Smart Agriculture Investment Planning in Kenya

Alliance staff and stakeholders at the climate smart agriculture investment planning workshop

The Alliance begins the Climate Smart Agriculture Investment Planning in Kenya by prioritizing investments areas at a multistakeholder forum in Nairobi.

Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) by definition is an integrated approach for identifying and implementing agricultural practices focusing on increased productivity, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. Across the African continent, the uptake of CSA is widespread with many farmers slowly integrating CSA technologies and management practices to help cushion them against the negative impacts of climate change. In Kenya, CSA has started to take root, with initiatives such as the Kenya CSA Multi-Stakeholder Platform, launched in March 2022, creating an enabling environment for coordination of CSA activities in the country including investment planning.

To facilitate the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Investment Planning (KSCAIP) process, the Alliance held a three-day inception and prioritization workshop that brought together different agricultural stakeholders to select and prioritize a portfolio of investments that offer the greatest potential to increase productivity and enhance household incomes under a changing climate. Among the stakeholders present were Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Environment, and Cooperatives (MoALFC), representatives from the private sector, representatives from farmer organizations and academia.

Stakeholders were engaged in an investment identification and shortlisting activity under 3 areas of thematic focus; livestock and fisheries, crops and CSA services. Using a situational analysis of the agriculture and climate change context in Kenya, scientific evidence from  the 45 Kenya county climate risk profiles as well as national development strategies outlining some government priorities, they scored the investments under a defined and weighted criterion.

Investments

The selection of investment areas with the greatest potential to increase agricultural productivity, build resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, for the development of the CSAIP was as follows.

  • Integrated Agro-Industrial Park for CSA Value chain Development 
  • Digital knowledge management platform for extension support 
  • Dryland cereal and pulse value chain development 
  • Sustainable water harvesting and utilization systems
  • Integrated soil fertility management
  • Mangrove and coral reef restoration and conservation
  • Climate smart aquaculture systems
  • Climate smart dairy livestock systems
  • Climate smart fisheries production
Alliance staff and stakeholders at the climate smart agriculture investment planning workshop

Participants at the investment planning workshop.

Following the selection of priority investments, climate data modelling, impact evaluation, a cost-benefit analysis as well as monitoring and evaluation will be undertaken as part of an investment appraisal. A validation workshop will thereafter follow to complete the phased approach to CSAIP development. 

With the CSAIP, Kenya will be one step closer to having the evidence necessary to mobilize finances and investments for country supported and scientifically vetted CSA investments at scale. The nation will also join the ranks of countries such as Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Namibia, and Zimbabwe that have identified some concrete investments opportunities for the government and private sector that boost climate- smart agriculture.