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Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is increasingly becoming important as a sustainable way of increasing agricultural productivity and increasing the resilience of farming systems to climate variability. Moreover, crop diversification strategy plays a vital role in creating resilience against climate-related risks in farm production and enhancing resilience in food systems. While crop diversification intensity acts as a proxy indication of climate risk mitigation strategy, its successful implementation as a climate-smart agricultural practice depends on the ability of the smallholder farmers to allocate the available farm resources efficiently. The study evaluated the effect of crop diversification on variable cost structure (land, labor, capital, fertilizer, and seeds) among smallholder farmers in Western Kenya. We use primary data from 267 randomly selected respondents and apply a translog cost function model to explore the effect of implementing crop diversification strategy on variable cost structure among smallholder farmers. The results showed that indeed practicing crop diversification affects the overall production cost structure. The result showed that the Allen elasticity of substitution (AES) of all combinations of inputs (land and capital, land and fertilizer, land and labor, fertilizer and capital, fertilizer and labor, fertilizer and capital) are positive. These relationships imply that land, labor, fertilizer, and capital substitute each other in crop production. The Morishima elasticities of factor substitution (MES) reveal that the highest degree of substitutability in response to price changes is between capital and fertilizer, land and fertilizer, and labor and fertilizer, implying the intensive nature of crop diversity in terms of land, labor and capital requirements. These findings demonstrate that despite the potential benefits of crop diversification, the trade-off in the total cost of production does matter. Non-accounting for such trade-offs is likely to over-estimate crop diversification benefits and limit its successful practice by smallholder farmers.

The dairy sector in Rwanda plays a key role in improving nutrition and generating income mostly for rural households. Despite the Rwandan 1994 genocide that left around 80% of dairy cows decimated, the dairy sector has experienced significant growth in the past two decades through government, development organisations, and donor programs, and through the nascent vibrant public–private partnership. In this paper, we reviewed and documented the evolution of the dairy policies, programs, and regulations in Rwanda and how they have contributed to the development of the dairy sector. The policy change has impacted the provision and use of inputs and services that have shaped the sector's milk production and productivity, milk quality, and demand. The results suggest that various policy- and program-level interventions have positively contributed to the growth of the dairy sector and improved the livelihoods of low-income households. This has been achieved through increased access to inputs and services, enhanced capacities of the public and private sector to deliver services, strengthened dairy cooperatives' governance, and increased value proposition to members of various farmer groups and promotion of milk consumption. We find that some of the implemented policies and programs, such as the “Girinka” (one cow per poor family) program, Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II, and Rwanda Dairy Development Project, have resulted in improved farmer access to improved cow breeds and improved milk quality and cow productivity through enhanced health inputs and other services. While the dairy policies, programs, and regulations in Rwanda have paved the way for the development of the dairy sector and contributed to the provision and use of inputs and services, there are still challenges that need to be addressed. Accessibility and use of veterinary and artificial insemination services are limited by the quality of veterinary products, while the inadequate quality of feeds leads to low productivity of improved cow breeds. Consequently, farmers' uptake and use of inputs and services can be enhanced through a strengthened capacity of milk collection centres and health and animal feed policies that guide and control the quality of veterinary products and feeds sold in the markets.