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The report assesses gender inequalities in Kenya's agricultural sector, specifically within the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB). It identifies systemic barriers for women, including limited land ownership, restricted access to finance, and a disproportionate domestic work burden, which exacerbate their vulnerability to climate change. The assessment analyzes six priority value chains—coffee, tea, fruit trees, African leafy vegetables, poultry, and dairy—finding that while women provide the majority of labor, they are often excluded from leadership and financial control, particularly in 'masculinized' cash crops. To address this, the project proposes a Gender Action Plan using Gender Transformative Approaches (GTA) and Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) to shift deep-rooted socio-cultural norms and improve the representation and agency of marginalized groups in agricultural cooperatives.

The report provides evidence that adopting Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices, such as Conservation Agriculture (CA) and Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM), benefits smallholder farming systems in Western Kenya by addressing soil fertility loss and enhancing carbon sequestration potential.

The review finds that Kenya has implemented numerous initiatives to enhance climate resilience in its agriculture sector, including the development of drought-tolerant crops, improved rangeland management, and the scaling of sustainable aquaculture. While the enabling environment has improved through legislation like the Climate Change Act (2016) and the establishment of the Climate Smart Agriculture Multistakeholder Platform, the report notes a critical lack of baseline data and indicators in the original NAP, making it difficult to accurately track progress. Despite these efforts, smallholder production remains limited due to persistent climatic shocks, including a 40-year record drought from 2019 to 2022.

The document identifies critical barriers to sustainable charcoal in Kenya, including limited financing for reforestation and efficient kilns, weak enforcement of the 2009 Forest (Charcoal) Rules due to systemic corruption, and low capacity among producer associations to comply with complex regulations. It highlights a significant supply-demand gap, with demand estimated at 16.3 million m3 against a supply of 7.4 million m3, and notes that while alternative fuels like LPG and ethanol are available, they remain accessible primarily to high-income households.

The document examines Zowasel's pilot initiative in Kenya and Tanzania, which aims to build resilience for small-scale sorghum farmers through a digital marketplace and physical Crop Centres. The program addresses challenges such as limited market access, poor grain quality, and the need for supply chain transparency driven by global regulations like the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). By connecting farmers and cooperatives directly to corporate buyers, Zowasel seeks to reduce reliance on intermediaries, promote regenerative agriculture, and enable farmers to access carbon credit markets. The analysis evaluates the initiative's transformative potential across five dimensions: alignment with contexts, resource enablement, relationship building, shifting power structures, and supporting systems learning.

The report assesses Kenya's cooling landscape, highlighting that 9.6 million people are at high risk due to lack of cooling access. It identifies critical needs in agriculture, where 40% of food is lost annually, and healthcare, where electricity gaps hinder vaccine cold chains. To mitigate these issues and align with the Energy Transition and Investment Plan (ETIP) 2023-2050, the document recommends eight policy interventions, including the adoption of passive cooling, stricter Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPs), and the phase-out of HFC refrigerants. It also proposes financial strategies such as green bonds and blended finance to overcome high upfront costs for sustainable cooling technologies.