Barriers to Adoption of Climate-Smart Technologies by Smallholder Dairy Farmers. Evidence from Nakuru County, Kenya

Climate change is an increasing threat to the sustainability of smallholder dairy production in Nakuru County, which is threatening food security and rural livelihoods. In response, climate-smart technologies (CSTs) have been promoted to improve productivity, milk output, income, and resilience among dairy farmers. However, despite their benefits, adoption remains constrained by multiple socio-economic and institutional challenges. This study, therefore, assessed barriers smallholder dairy farmers face in implementing CSTs in Njoro Sub-County, Nakuru County, with an intention to create context-specific evidence to guide policies and programmes to increase adoption and resilience. The survey design was cross-sectional, and a multi-stage sampling method was adopted to sample 110 smallholder dairy farmers. Semi-structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews were used to collect data. The descriptive statistics was used to analyse them. The results show that farmers face multiple constraints in adopting CSTs, with the most significant being high adoption costs (98.18%). This was followed by limited access to farm inputs (91.82%), inadequate extension support (85.45%), and limited access to credit or loans (83.64%). Other key challenges included unclear policies and regulations (77.27%), low awareness of available CSTs (68.18%), and limited market access (60.00%). The research concludes that financial constraints, poor extension services, limited access to inputs, and institutional barriers are the primary factors that negatively affect the adoption of CSTs by smallholder dairy farmers. Despite their proven potential to enhance productivity and resilience, all these obstacles result in a decreased utility and use of CSTs. The research proposes the provision of affordable credit and financing systems, reinforced extension and advisory services, and improved awareness creation regarding CSTs, as well as improved input and market access systems, as solutions to sustainable dairy production and climate resilience.