There is increasing interest in accessing climate finance to support low-emission, climate resilient agricultural development, but little is understood about how climate finance can be deployed to catalyze large-scale adoption of mitigation practices by smallholder farmers. This study assesses the potential roles of public climate finance in enabling smallholder farmers in Kenya's dairy sector to adopt low-emission farming practices. Drawing on multiple studies conducted as part of the design of a nationally appropriate mitigation action for the Kenyan dairy sector, it examines financing needs, institutional arrangements for channeling climate finance, and appropriate financial instruments. The study finds that financially profitable investments can be made by dairy farmers, but credit financing on commercial terms is not viable for dairy farmers lacking off-farm income sources. Dairy farmers make little use of formal financial institutions for several reasons, and while financial institutions have a strong interest in increasing their finance to the dairy sector, they face a variety of capacity constraints. Climate finance may have roles to play in strengthening linkages between dairy farmers and financial institutions, building capacities of different actors in the dairy and finance sectors, and enabling both farmers and financial institutions to manage risks. Concessional loans, credit guarantee funds and grants are all relevant financial instruments. If agriculture is to attract climate finance in support of large-scale mitigation action, a diversified, demand-responsive approach to financial innovation is required that engages different types of financial institution to support access to both savings and credit services tailored to the varied needs of men and women dairy farmers and the dairy value chain actors they work with.

In this study, the triterpenoids in the leaves of Lactuca indica L.cv. Mengzao (LIM) were extracted via microwave-assisted ethanol extraction, and the optimum extraction conditions for triterpenoids were determined through single-factor experiments and the Box–Behnken method. The effects of three factors (solid–liquid ratio, microwave power and extraction time) on the total triterpenoids content (TTC) were evaluated. The TTC of different parts (roots, stems, leaves and flowers) of LIM in different growth stages was studied, and the scavenging effects of the highest TTC parts on DPPH, ABTS and hydroxyl free radicals were investigated. The results showed that the optimum extraction conditions for microwave-assisted extraction of total triterpenoids from LIM leaves were as follows: solid–liquid ratio of 1:20 g/mL; microwave power of 400 W; and extraction time of 60 min. Under these conditions, the TTC was 29.17 mg/g. Compared with the fresh raw materials, the TTC of the materials increased after freeze drying. The leaves of LIM had the highest TTC, and the flowering stage was the best time. The triterpenoids from the leaves had a strong ability to eliminate DPPH and ABTS free radicals, and the elimination effect of dried leaves was better than that of fresh leaves, while the elimination effect of hydroxyl free radicals was not obvious. The tested method was used to extract total triterpenoids from LIM using a simple process at low cost, which provides a reference for developing intensive processing methods for L. indica.

This study addressed data gaps in manure management systems (MMS) for buffalo in the Philippines to improve the national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory of methane (CH₄) emissions. A total of 772 buffalo farmers were surveyed through face-to-face interviews to document their socio-economic and farm profiles as well as fraction of manure managed in each MMS. These data are essential inputs for developing country-specific CH₄ emission factors (EF) following the Tier 2 method of the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Findings revealed notable differences in the socio-economic and farm profiles of dairy versus draft buffalo farmers. The fraction of manure managed in each MMS also varied by farm scale. Smallholder farms primarily left manure to decompose in the grazing area (58.30%), applied manure to crops (30.45%) or managed it in solid storage (6.31%). Semi-commercial farms employed more diverse systems, including crop application (47.51%), solid storage (11.65%) and composting (3.24%), in addition to leaving manure in the grazing area (32.46%). Comparison with the Tier 1 MMS assumptions showed that Tier 1 default values failed to fully capture the range of MMS observed in the field. The Tier 2 EF estimated in this study was 8-10% higher than the Tier 1 EF for smallholder systems, and substantially higher by 39-92% for semi-commercial and commercial farms, exceeding the IPCC Tier 1 default EF uncertainty margins. This study highlights the critical role of country-specific data in enhancing the accuracy of GHG emission estimates, thereby supporting the development of more effective and informed mitigation strategies. Key recommendations include institutionalizing the Tier 2 method in national inventory compilation systems, and promoting improved manure management on smallholder farms through targeted training and extension programs.