EU Launches Sh645 Million Soil Health Initiative Targeting 40,000 Kenyan Farmers Across Six Counties

Thousands of smallholder farmers across six Kenyan counties are poised to benefit from a comprehensive new European Union-supported initiative aimed at restoring soil health and strengthening climate-resilient agricultural practices. The Enhancing Soil Health and Agroecology in KCEP-CRAL (KCEP-CRAL Soil/ILSA) Action, officially launched on Tuesday in Kakamega County, will inject approximately Sh645 million into Kenya’s agricultural sector over the next three years.

The programme, financed by the European Union and implemented in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Kenya’s State Department of Agriculture, targets 40,000 farmers in Embu, Kakamega, Kilifi, Makueni, Taita Taveta and Trans Nzoia counties, representing a strategic investment in regions facing significant climate and soil fertility challenges.

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Responding to Mounting Agricultural Pressures

During the official launch ceremony, IFAD Kenya Country Director Mariatu Kamara emphasized the urgency of the initiative, noting that it responds to mounting pressure on Kenya’s food systems from climate change, declining soil fertility, and global economic shocks that have increasingly threatened smallholder farmer livelihoods.

“Agriculture and food systems in Kenya [are] at a crossroads,” Kamara stated, characterizing the current situation as a critical juncture requiring decisive intervention. She explained that the programme seeks to strengthen resilience, promote sustainable farming practices, and ensure farmers are better prepared to withstand climate shocks that have become more frequent and severe in recent years.

The initiative addresses concerns that have been documented across Kenya’s agricultural landscape. Research indicates that more than 65 percent of soils in sub-Saharan Africa are estimated to be nutrient-depleted, significantly diminishing the effectiveness of improved seeds and fertilizers while undermining efforts to raise yields and build agricultural resilience.

Agricultural production and food security are increasingly under threat in Kenya’s highlands and other productive zones, burdened by risks such as climate change as well as soil degradation caused by overgrazing, overcropping and poor farming practices, according to agricultural development organizations working in the country.

Agroecological Focus and Digital Innovation

Funded through a European Union grant, the Action focuses on promoting agroecological practices, improving access to sustainable inputs, and strengthening extension services through digital innovation—a multi-pronged approach designed to address both immediate farmer needs and longer-term systems transformation.

Farmers participating in the programme will access bio-inputs, seeds, and advisory services through a digital e-voucher system designed to enhance transparency, efficiency, and private sector participation. This technological component represents a modernization of traditional agricultural extension approaches, enabling more efficient resource allocation and reducing opportunities for corruption or mismanagement in input distribution.

Agroecological practices, which form the core of the initiative’s technical approach, involve farming methods that rejuvenate soil fertility and reduce carbon emissions while maintaining or increasing productivity. These practices stand in contrast to conventional high-input agricultural systems that have often led to soil degradation and environmental damage in smallholder farming contexts.

The programme builds on growing recognition in Kenya and across Africa that sustainable intensification approaches are essential for maintaining agricultural productivity while conserving natural resources. The National Agroecology Strategy for Food Transformation, launched in November 2024, recognizes healthy soils as critical to agroecological transformation in Kenya and calls for government support in soil testing services, farmer training, and soil monitoring systems.

Building on Proven Approaches

Kamara noted that the project builds on previous EU- and government-supported interventions, including the Kenya Cereal Enhancement Programme – Climate Resilient Agricultural Livelihoods Window (KCEP-CRAL) and the ongoing Boosting Sustainable Food Production in Kenya (BOOST) project, which have collectively supported smallholder farmers across 15 counties.

“This investment is not starting from scratch. It builds on proven approaches and partnerships that have delivered real results for farmers,” she emphasized, highlighting the importance of building on existing institutional capacity and farmer knowledge rather than introducing entirely new systems.

The original KCEP-CRAL programme, which this initiative expands upon, aimed to reduce rural poverty and food insecurity among smallholders in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands by developing their economic potential while improving their natural resource management capacity and resilience to climate change in increasingly fragile ecosystems.

The programme’s design reflects lessons learned from earlier interventions about the importance of integrated approaches that combine technical training, access to inputs, market linkages, and institutional strengthening rather than focusing on any single element in isolation.

Institutional Strengthening Beyond Farm Level

Beyond farm-level support, the programme also seeks to strengthen national and county institutions responsible for agricultural development. By improving coordination on agroecology policy and reinforcing extension systems, the Action aims to embed sustainable soil management practices into Kenya’s broader agricultural strategy, creating lasting institutional change that will continue benefiting farmers long after the three-year programme period concludes.

This institutional focus addresses a well-documented challenge in Kenya’s agricultural sector. In the country, agricultural expertise is shared with farmers via a network of extension workers. Unfortunately, this system is overstretched, with the ratio of extension workers to farmers being 1:200, severely limiting the quality and frequency of technical support that individual farmers can access.

To help overcome this shortfall, programmes working in Kenya have utilized the Village Based Advisors (VBA) model, where private sector local farmers supply information services and high-quality agricultural inputs such as certified seeds to other farmers in their communities. The KCEP-CRAL Soil/ILSA Action is expected to build on this approach by strengthening the capacity of both formal extension workers and community-based advisors.

The programme’s emphasis on policy coordination also recognizes that successful scaling of sustainable practices requires supportive national and county-level policies, regulatory frameworks, and investment priorities that create enabling environments for agroecological transformation.

County-Level Support and Alignment

Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa welcomed the initiative during the launch ceremony, saying it aligns with both county and national priorities on food security, climate resilience, and farmer empowerment. The governor’s endorsement reflects the importance of county government buy-in for successful implementation of agricultural development programmes in Kenya’s devolved governance system.

“This programme will equip our farmers with the knowledge and tools they need to improve productivity while protecting the environment,” Barasa stated, adding that the county is committed to working closely with partners to ensure successful implementation.

The inclusion of county governments as key stakeholders recognizes that under Kenya’s 2010 Constitution, agricultural extension services and several other agricultural functions were devolved to county level, making county cooperation essential for effective programme delivery.

Kakamega County, like others included in the programme, faces significant agricultural challenges despite being in a relatively high agricultural potential zone. Studies in Kakamega and neighboring Vihiga counties have documented that these areas, despite favorable conditions, are characterized by high population density, soil erosion, low soil fertility, and declining productivity—problems that require comprehensive soil management interventions.

Government Recognition of Soil Degradation Challenge

Officials from the State Department for Agriculture described the programme as timely, noting that soil degradation remains a major constraint to agricultural productivity in many regions. An official who represented Agriculture Principal Secretary Kipronoh Ronoh during the launch stated, “Investing in soil health and agroecology is essential for sustainable food production and long-term resilience.”

The official emphasized that the initiative complements government efforts to modernize agriculture while conserving natural resources, reflecting Kenya’s commitment to sustainable intensification approaches that increase productivity without depleting soil resources or degrading ecosystems.

Research conducted across Kenya has documented the severity of soil fertility challenges facing the country’s agricultural sector. Declining soil fertility continues to hinder agricultural production especially among resource-constrained smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, according to studies examining soil fertility management strategies in Kenya’s Mount Kenya East region and other productive zones.

Studies assessing soil fertility management among smallholder farmers have found that despite being in high agricultural productivity zones with favorable climatic conditions and fertile soils, regions like those around Mount Kenya face declining soil fertility, reduction of agricultural land, lack of protection of catchment areas, and environmental degradation that pose major threats to community livelihoods.

Climate Change Compounding Soil Challenges

The intersection of climate change and soil degradation creates particularly acute challenges for Kenya’s agricultural sector. Without effective adaptation, climate change is projected to reduce staple crop yields by as much as 20-30 percent in some areas by 2050, intensifying food insecurity and livelihood vulnerability among smallholder farming communities.

Prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall, and floods are disrupting production systems, particularly for smallholder farmers who are highly exposed to weather shocks. These climate impacts reduce crop yields, increase pest and disease outbreaks, and destabilize markets, creating cascading challenges that compound soil fertility problems.

The double effect of climate change and soil fertility decline could be devastating among poor rural smallholder farmers who depend solely on rain-fed agriculture with little investment in adaptive mechanisms, according to research examining climate-smart agriculture in Western Kenya.

For many farmers, the relationship between climate and soil creates a vicious cycle: climate stresses reduce plant cover and organic matter returns to soil, accelerating erosion and nutrient loss, which in turn reduces soil’s capacity to retain water and support healthy crops during climate stresses. Breaking this cycle requires integrated approaches that address both climate adaptation and soil health simultaneously—precisely what the KCEP-CRAL Soil/ILSA Action aims to achieve.

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Farmer Experiences and Adoption Challenges

The programme’s design reflects real experiences of smallholder farmers who have struggled with soil degradation and climate impacts. Individual farmers across Kenya have documented their transitions toward more sustainable practices, often after years of declining productivity using conventional approaches.

One farmer from Kakamega County reported that she suffered “because of lack of knowledge and information and almost gave up on farming due to soil degradation, weeds, pests, and vagaries of climate change,” before embracing science-backed regenerative agricultural practices including crop diversification, cover crops, and integrated soil fertility management.

After years of extreme weather conditions and poor agricultural practices that often resulted in land degradation and poor harvests, Kenya’s smallholder farmers are increasingly engaging in soil protection and rehabilitation practices, according to agricultural extension officers and development practitioners working across the country.

However, adoption of soil carbon enhancing practices and other sustainable approaches remains low in many areas. Research examining factors influencing adoption in Western Kenya has found that while these practices are important for improving soil fertility, restoring degraded farmland, controlling soil erosion, enhancing soil carbon, and adapting to climate change effects, various socioeconomic, institutional, and knowledge barriers constrain their uptake.

Farmers’ adoption of agricultural technologies varies based on a range of factors including socio-economic and biophysical conditions, institutional support, and knowledge and skills regarding best agricultural practices. The low adoption of agricultural technology among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa has been attributed to lack of enabling resources including physical and capital endowments such as land and livestock, agricultural extension services, and access to credit.

Practical Approaches to Soil Restoration

The programme will promote specific agroecological practices that have demonstrated effectiveness in rehabilitating degraded lands and boosting crop yields in Kenyan contexts. These innovative techniques include terracing, which has emerged as a critical strategy in Kenya’s fight against soil erosion by creating level platforms on hillsides that effectively reduce water runoff and soil loss.

Mulching, which involves covering soil with organic materials, has proven highly effective among participating farmers in similar programmes. Research evaluating regenerative agriculture projects found that 77% of farmers practiced mulching after project participation, a 44% growth compared to before intervention. The benefits of mulching include higher water retention by soils and reduced need for weeding.

Minimum tillage practices, which disturb soil less than conventional plowing, have also gained traction. Studies have shown that the number of farmers practicing minimum tillage can nearly double through targeted programmes, with results including improvement in soil fertility and texture and reduction in instances of soil erosion.

Application of organic manure represents another core practice. Scorecard surveys evaluating regenerative practice uptake have found that 97% of farmers surveyed apply organic manure to their farms after programme participation, compared to 59% before intervention, with the majority highlighting increased crop yield as a major benefit.

Crop rotation and intercropping systems, including nitrogen-fixing legumes alongside cereals, help maintain soil fertility while diversifying farm production and income sources. Mixed cropping has the advantage of allowing greater production from the same land while not causing additional degradation, as different crops require different nutrients which can be mutually beneficial to each other.

Digital Tools for Extension and Market Access

The programme’s incorporation of digital platforms represents an important innovation in agricultural development approaches. Digital tools can help address the severe shortage of extension workers while improving farmer access to markets and timely information.

Previous programmes in Kenya have introduced platforms such as AGRIBOT (an online digital extension platform managed by Microsoft through AGRA) and AGRIVIEW (a digital marketing platform) to help with both farming and marketing activities. These digital solutions can provide farmers with access to weather forecasts, market price information, agronomic advice, and connections to input suppliers and output buyers.

The e-voucher system to be employed in the KCEP-CRAL Soil/ILSA Action will enable farmers to access bio-inputs, seeds, and advisory services while enhancing transparency and efficiency in input distribution and reducing opportunities for leakage or corruption. By creating digital records of transactions, such systems also generate valuable data on input use patterns that can inform future programme design and policy development.

Farmer Response and Expectations

Farmers who attended the launch ceremony expressed optimism that the programme will help address persistent challenges such as high input costs and limited access to extension services—two of the most commonly cited barriers to adoption of improved practices among Kenyan smallholders.

High input costs have been a particularly acute challenge in recent years, with global fertilizer price spikes following disruptions in international markets making commercial fertilizers increasingly unaffordable for many smallholder farmers. Programmes that provide access to both commercial and bio-based inputs through subsidized or voucher systems can significantly ease this constraint.

Limited access to extension services reflects both the shortage of extension workers relative to farmer numbers and the challenge of ensuring that extension advice is relevant, timely, and accessible to farmers in remote or marginalized areas. Digital extension platforms and community-based advisor models offer potential solutions to these longstanding challenges.

Commitment to Lasting Impact

Kamara reaffirmed IFAD’s commitment to working closely with the Government of Kenya, county governments, and development partners to ensure the initiative delivers lasting impact. “Our focus is on delivering tangible results for farmers and rural communities,” she stated. “This is about building resilient food systems for the future.”

This emphasis on lasting impact and systems change reflects recognition that short-term interventions, while sometimes producing impressive results during project implementation periods, often fail to create sustainable change once external support ends. By focusing on institutional strengthening, policy alignment, and market systems development alongside direct farmer support, the KCEP-CRAL Soil/ILSA Action aims to create conditions for continued improvement beyond the three-year funding period.

The programme’s integration with Kenya’s National Agroecology Strategy and county agricultural development plans provides policy framework support that can help sustain momentum after donor funding concludes. Similarly, strengthening of extension systems and private sector input supply chains creates institutional capacity that will continue serving farmers long-term.

Broader Context of Kenya’s Agricultural Development

The agriculture sector forms a cornerstone of Kenya’s economy, contributing approximately 20 percent of GDP and providing livelihoods for more than 40 percent of the population, including over 70 percent of rural households. This central economic role makes agricultural productivity and resilience essential not only for food security but for poverty reduction and inclusive economic growth.

However, Kenya’s agrifood systems are under increasing strain from climate change, soil degradation, market volatility, and other pressures that threaten both productivity and sustainability. Addressing these challenges requires comprehensive approaches that go beyond simply promoting individual practices to address entire farming systems and the institutional and policy environments that shape farmer decision-making.

The six counties targeted by the KCEP-CRAL Soil/ILSA Action represent diverse agro-ecological conditions ranging from coastal zones (Kilifi) to highland areas (Embu) to semi-arid regions (Makueni, Taita Taveta) to high-potential agricultural zones (Kakamega, Trans Nzoia). This diversity will enable the programme to test and refine approaches across different contexts while building understanding of how agroecological practices can be adapted to varied conditions.

Looking Ahead: Scaling and Sustainability Questions

While the launch of the Sh645 million programme represents a significant investment in Kenya’s agricultural transformation, questions remain about how successfully interventions at this scale can be sustained and scaled to reach the millions of smallholder farmers across Kenya who face similar soil health and climate challenges.

With 40,000 farmers targeted across six counties over three years, the programme will need to demonstrate efficient models for farmer mobilization, training, input delivery, and monitoring that could potentially be replicated or scaled up through government systems or other development partners.

The programme’s emphasis on building institutional capacity at both national and county levels will be critical for sustainability. If successful, the initiative could strengthen Kenya’s agricultural extension systems, improve coordination on agroecology policy, and demonstrate viable business models for private sector engagement in sustainable input supply—all changes that would benefit farmers beyond those directly participating in the programme.

Market linkages and value chain development will also be important for sustainability. Farmers who adopt soil health practices need access to markets that reward quality and can absorb increased production. Without such market opportunities, even successful improvements in soil fertility and crop yields may not translate into improved livelihoods and sustained practice adoption.

Conclusion

The EU-supported Enhancing Soil Health and Agroecology in KCEP-CRAL initiative represents a strategic investment in addressing some of the most fundamental challenges facing Kenya’s agricultural sector. By targeting soil health restoration and agroecological transformation while strengthening institutions and leveraging digital innovation, the programme offers a comprehensive approach to building climate-resilient food systems.

For the 40,000 farmers across Embu, Kakamega, Kilifi, Makueni, Taita Taveta, and Trans Nzoia counties who will directly participate, the programme offers access to knowledge, inputs, and services that could significantly improve productivity, resilience, and livelihoods. For Kenya’s broader agricultural sector, the initiative offers an opportunity to demonstrate scalable models for sustainable intensification that could inform future policy and investment priorities.

As climate change continues to intensify pressure on agricultural systems across Africa, programmes like KCEP-CRAL Soil/ILSA that address both immediate farmer needs and longer-term systems transformation will be essential for ensuring food security and rural prosperity. The success of this initiative will be measured not only in improved soil health indicators and crop yields among participating farmers, but in its contribution to building truly resilient agricultural systems capable of sustaining Kenya’s growing population in an era of unprecedented environmental change.

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By: Montel Kamau

Serrari Financial Analyst

14th January, 2026