Whole farm quantification of GHG emissions within smallholder farms in developing countries

The IPCC has compiled the best available scientific methods into published guidelines for greenhouse gas emissions and emission removals from the land-use sector. In order evaluate existing GHG quantification tools to comprehensively quantify GHG emissions removals in smallholder conditions, farm scale quantification was tested with farm data Western Kenya. After conducting a cluster analysis to identify different farm typologies quantification was exercised using the VCS SALM methodology complemented with livestock emission factors and the cool farm tool. The emission profiles of four farm representing the baseline conditions in the year 2009 are compared with 2011 where adopted sustainable land management practices (SALM). The results demonstrate the in both the magnitude of the estimated GHG emissions per ha between different farm typologies and the emissions estimated by applying two different accounting. The farm scale quantification further shows that the adoption of SALM has a significant on emission reduction and removals and the mitigation benefits range between 4 and6. 5 tCO2 ha−1 yr−1 with significantly different mitigation benefits depending on typologies of crop–livestock systems, their different agricultural practices, as well as adoption rates of practices. However, the inherent uncertainty related to the emission factors applied accounting tools has substantial implications for reported agricultural emissions. With to uncertainty related to activity data, the assessment confirms the high variability different farm types as well as between different parameters surveyed to quantify GHG emissions within smallholder farms.