Factors influencing adoption of climate-smart livestock practices in eastern Africa: insights from Uganda

Agriculture accounts for 23% of the gross domestic product (GDP) on average in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with its contribution varying between 20 and 50% among individual countries. The sector employs about 60% of the population, with over 75% of farms owned and managed by smallholder farmers. Despite its importance, agriculture is constrained by low productivity, limited access to suitable technologies and high vulnerability to climate change impacts that threaten food security and rural livelihoods. The livestock sub-sector is particularly crucial for agriculture, contributing 5–15% of the regional GDP and nearly 60% of the agricultural GDP. Beyond income generation, the livestock sub-sector supports food and nutrition security by providing milk and meat; these are rich in protein, vitamin B12, iron, and calcium and thus provide nutrients essential for human growth and development. Climate-smart livestock (CSL) practices have the potential to boost food production while improving the resilience and environmental sustainability of agricultural systems in sub-Saharan Africa. However, their adoption rates in the region remain low. Focusing on Uganda as a case study, multivariate Probit and Tobit regression models were applied to determine the factors influencing the adoption of CSL practices by dairy farmers.