“The study assessed the vulnerability and adaptation strategies to climate variability and change (CVC) of the Bos-taurus dairy genotypes (DBG) under three diverse production environments (PEDs). Dairy farming is a key component of livestock industry in Kenya and is dominated by Bostaurus dairy breeds/genotypes (DBG) comprising Friesian, Ayrshire, Guernsey, Jersey and crosses amongst themselves. The DBG are raised in different agro-ecological zones under diverse production environments (PEDs) and are classified as vulnerable to poor feeding, heat load and disease incidences, which are projected to increase in frequency, intensity and magnitude with the increasing climate variability and change. The PEDs thus has both direct and indirect climate effects on DBG, which will adversely impact
on the DBG performance and therefore limit their potential for providing food, nutrition, and income and job securities to the farmer. This does raise concerns of securing livelihoods for the farmer, creating the necessity to identify options and strategies for CVC adaptation by poor dairy farmers. Intervention measures are needed to contribute towards building adaptive capacity and resilience to climate variability in the short-term and climate change in the long-term, but are currently deficient in Kenya.”
