Understanding Variability in Carbon Foot Prints of Smallholder Dairy Farm, in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia.

Abstract Smallholder dairy farms face enormous challenges of increasing milk production while also mitigating associated GHG emission, thereby increasing climate resilience. Carbon foot prints (CF) of smallholder milk production is expected to increase with increasing demand for dairy products under business as usual scenario. This study estimate the carbon foot prints of smallholder milk production and examine variation across farms using data from 480 households in order to identify viable options for mitigating GHG emissions. We applied a cradle to farm-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to examine the effects of farming systems on GHG emissions intensifies across intensification gradients of smallholder farm (SHF) from four dairy potential districts in central highlands of Ethiopia. Our study findings revealed that enteric fermentation was the primary source of GHG emission and CH4 emission from enteric fermentation and manure management comprised the bulk of total emission across farms. The estimated average CF varies depending on farm systems, Global Warming Potential (GWP), and allocation methods used. When GHG emissions were allocated to multiple products using economic allocation to milk, beef, finance and insurances, the overall average CF of milk production reported was 1.91 and 2.35 kg CO2e/kg fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM), and on average 72% of total GHG emissions were allocated to milk. With regard to farm typology, rural SHF tended to have significantly higher CF per kg of milk than urban and peri-urban SHF system. Variation in milk yield explained more than 50% of the variation in GHG emission intensity at farm level. Feed digestibility and feed efficiency had a negative and significant (P < 0.01) association with CF of SHF. Our findings suggested that improved feeding by increasing the proportion of concentrate and improved forage, and chemically upgrading straw and crop residue could provide opportunity to both increase milk yield and reduce the CF of milk production of SHF in the study area. Supporting SHF to realize strategies that contribute to climate resilient dairy development will requires interventions at several level in dairy value chain.