The Livelihoods Mt Elgon project, implemented by Vi Agroforestry, aims to improve the livelihoods of 15 000 smallholder dairy farmers in the Mount Elgon region of Kenya. This project addresses poverty, environmental degradation, and climate change challenges by promoting sustainable farming practices and establishing connections to markets through 15 cooperatives. It will also sequester more than 1 million ton of CO2 equivalent and create tangible environmental benefits (water, biodiversity).
Sustainable agricultural land management practices
The project focuses on empowering farmers with Sustainable Agricultural and Land Management (SALM) practices, which help preserve biodiversity, water resources, and boost the local economy. By adopting these practices, farmers can increase their crop yields, improve milk production, and sequester carbon, contributing to climate change mitigation.
Farmers are trained on various SALM practices, including nutrient management, soil and water conservation, agronomic practices, agroforestry, tillage and residue management, integrated livestock management, and integrated pest management. These practices require limited financial investment and have proven efficiency in improving agricultural productivity.
Empowering farmers and cooperatives
The project also focuses on strengthening existing cooperatives and empowering women. Farmers are reached through farmer groups and cooperatives. Trainings are organized by field officers through demonstration farms and farmer trainers. The cooperatives are supported for milk collecting, cooling, and bulking.
The project strengthens the capacity of cooperatives to offer more services to their members, such as veterinary services and artificial insemination. Moreover, the governance of the cooperatives and their members is strengthened to enable women to participate more actively in the dairy value chain and decision-making at household and cooperative levels.
Environmental impact and climate change mitigation
Sustainable agricultural practices, agroforestry, and the protection of river banks contribute to watershed conservation and protection of Lake Victoria. Land restoration and agroforestry trees highly reduce soil erosion, and in the long run, increase soil fertility.
The project also mitigates climate change by binding CO2 in soil organic matter and trees planted. Furthermore, cows naturally emit greenhouse gasses when they digest food. But in this project, cows are fed with more nutritious and protein-rich fodder. This helps each cow be healthy and produce more milk, leading to less greenhouse gasses per liter of milk.
Innovative investment model
The project is developed through an innovative investment model. It is financed by the Livelihoods Fund, an investment fund created by private companies, who bear the investment risk. Brookside Dairy, a private company, co-invests in the project and pays according to milk production.
Film about the project
Project name: Livelihoods Mount Elgon Project: Empowering Farmers and Restoring Ecosystems
Context: The Mount Elgon region is historically a densely populated area with fertile soils and high rainfall. However, extensive cultivation and fragmentation have led to environmental degradation and low agricultural yields.
Main purpose: Improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers through sustainable farming and milk-water-carbon value creation, while preserving biodiversity and water resources.
Duration: 2016 – 2026
Location: Mount Elgon region, Kenya.
Target group: 30,000 smallholder farmers, including 15,000 dairy farmers.
Donors: Livelihoods Fund and Brookside Dairy Limited.
Implementing organisation: Vi Agroforestry.