Sustainability assessment of smallholder dairy carbon farms in Kenya using the SAFA Smallholders’ tool

Abstract Smallholder agricultural carbon projects offer a promising strategy for sustainable agriculture, as they can improve dairy production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the growing role of smallholders in addressing climate change through these projects has prompted concerns regarding the long-term sustainability of such initiatives. This study uses the Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems for Smallholders (SAFA-SH) tool to evaluate the sustainability performance of dairy carbon farms. It analyses the farming practices of participants in the Livelihoods Mt. Elgon carbon project, which encourages smallholder farmers to adopt practices that increase milk production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The SAFA-SH tool was chosen because it addresses a broad spectrum of sustainability issues and enables the identification of specific, short-term actions to improve sustainability. Questionnaires were administered face-to-face to 153 participating farmers. The results show that, on average, dairy farms involved in the carbon project have an overall sustainability performance rating of 41% good, 54% limited, and 5% unacceptable. The findings also show that, on average, smallholder dairy farms scored higher on environmental integrity than on social well-being, economic resilience and good governance. Two hotspots relating to indigenous knowledge and food quality indicators were also identified. The results suggest that the project focuses mainly on environmental sustainability, leaving a gap in terms of holistic sustainability. The relevance of the good governance indicator questions could be reconsidered in light of the conditions faced by smallholder farmers. This study is the first to use the SAFA-SH tool in an agricultural carbon project, providing valuable descriptive insights to inform policies for sustainable dairy production.