Unlocking climate finance for Kenya’s women dairy farmers
Climate change is increasing risks for smallholder dairy farmers in Kenya, many of them women. Heat stress and reduced quantity and quality of fodder harm animal health, resulting in reduced milk quantity and quality.
- Climate Change Mitigation
- gender
- dairy farms
By Vartika Singh, Daniel Mulat, Kevin Kinusu, and Muzna AlviAugust 4, 2026
Key takeaways
- Women dairy farmers in Kenya face growing climate risks but often cannot access the finance needed to adapt and protect their livelihoods.
- A recent gathering brought together farmers, other stakeholders, and finance partners to explore ways to develop digital lending tools and gender-focused finance.
- A proposed climate finance consortium could connect farmers, lenders, cooperatives, and researchers to expand access to suitable climate investments.
Climate change is increasing risks for smallholder dairy farmers in Kenya, many of them women. Heat stress and reduced quantity and quality of fodder harm animal health, resulting in reduced milk quantity and quality. That, in turn, affects human diets, nutrition, and health.
Confronting these risks—ensuring that animals are healthy, farmers see continued income from dairy production, and communities improve dietary diversity through more and better-quality milk products—requires considerable investments in climate adaptation. In addition, another target for climate investment is reducing the greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from dairy operations, for instance, installing systems that use GHGs captured from manure to generate renewable energy.
However, smallholders, particularly women, are largely excluded from existing climate finance instruments. Despite growing interest in climate finance, most lending mechanisms are poorly suited to smallholder households, leaving those most exposed to climate shocks without the capital needed to adapt.
In early July, researchers from IFPRI and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) convened a diverse group of stakeholders and finance partners in Nairobi under the auspices of the CGIAR Climate Action Science Program (CASP) to explore challenges and opportunities in developing financial products to help women smallholder dairy farmers build long-term climate resilience.