Carbon footprint of cows' milk: a case study of peri-urban and urban dairy farms within Mekelle milk-shed, Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, there is an urge to enhance milk production where urban and peri-urban farms play important role. Therefore, the role of such production system in Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions should be known. This study was conducted with the objective of estimating the carbon footprint (CF) of milk within Mekelle milkshed, Ethiopia. 50 urban and 42 peri-urban dairy farms were selected randomly and both primary and secondary data was collected. Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) approach was employed to quantify GHG emissions using cradle to- farm gate approach. The mean GHG emissions per cattle unit (000 kg CO2-e y-1) were 2.84 +/- 1.23 and 3.19 +/- 1.99 for peri-urban and urban farms, respectively. The share of enteric fermentation was 75.5% and 73.6% for peri-urban and urban farms, respectively. Milk contributed for 88.5% and 90.8% to the economic value of peri-urban and urban farms, respectively. Overall, the CF of milk production in urban and peri-urban farms was 2.2 kg CO2-e/kg and 3.2 kg CO2-e/kg without economic allocation, and 2.0 kg CO2-e/kg and 2.8 kg CO2-e/kg with economic allocation. In order to reduce GHG emission intensity from dairy farms it is important to adopt climate smart dairy practices.