By Zablon Oyugi
Makueni County in Kenya’s semi-arid Lower Eastern region experiences minimal rainfall and widespread soil degradation, making it difficult for farming households to produce enough food, let alone generating surplus for the market. Conventional farming practices, including monocropping and excessive pesticide use, have proved unsustainable as they deplete soil nutrients, reduce biodiversity and lower resilience to climate change.
Farmers are largely dependent on middlemen who offer low prices, limiting their earnings. However, regenerative agriculture (RA) is gradually taking root, shifting smallholder farmers’ mindset away from conventional practices toward safer, more sustainable crop production. The transformative farming system is being promoted by a programme backed by Enviu Agrifood, a global venture-building studio.
“Through this programme, farmers here are finding new hope for resilient and productive farming systems,” said Christine Mutisya, the Programme Manager, Enviu Agrifood. How it started The programme started in 2022, inspired by the success of the award-winning ventures such as SokoFresh, which provides farmlevel cold storage and market linkages, and Shambani Pro, a microfactory model that enables farmers to process their produce at farm gate, adding value and reducing waste.
“Our focus has always been on creating sustainable food systems by developing business models that reduce postharvest losses and increase farmer incomes,” said Ms Mutisya. She said that through these initiatives, the company has impacted over 12,000 farmers, helping them access better markets and improve their livelihoods.
Systematic approach
Starting the RA project in Makueni was not a trial and error escapade but a systematic approach that involved analysing the challenges in the area to understand how different parts of the RA system would interact, and identify business interventions that create sustainable, long-term impact.
“We chose to start the programme in Makueni based on a thorough issue analysis that guided our decision on where to implement. While this method is complex and time-intensive, it ensures lasting change,” said Ms Mutisya. About four years down the line, over 1,000 farmers are currently implementing regenerative agricultural practices in the county. Ms Mutisya said that the RA programme has already made a notable impact on farmers’ production and market access.
“Through improved farm design that enhances water retention and minimises the need for rainfall or irrigation, farms are now more productive throughout the season, reducing reliance on weather conditions,” she said. Also, practising intercropping, diversifying value chains, including herbs and spices, controlling pests and diseases have led to increased yields.
“Today, the farmers are shifting their mindset from subsistence farming to commercial production, seeing their farms as businesses,” said Ms Mutisya. Farmers are also able to harvest crops multiple times during one growing season besides reporting increased biodiversity, supported by soil tests that confirm improved soil health. Due to better-quality produce, the growers can now access bulk buyers, ensuring a stable and reliable market offering higher prices for their produce. David Malita is one of the farmers in Wote area in Makueni who has started reaping the benefits of regenerative agriculture.
The father of seven grows fruits such as avocadoes, mangoes and bananas alongside other crops such as pumpkins, African indigenous vegetables, legumes and herbs such as thyme. He says the only difficult stage in embracing regenerative system is at the beginning because it is labour-intensive and it may take a little bit long to start enjoying the full benefits. “I have dug trenches to capture rainwater runoff, which benefits the farm during the dry season. In addition,
I use mulching and plant cover crops to minimise water loss through evaporation,” said Malita during a farm tour. Despite the dry season affecting the area, his farm remained lush and green. He recently harvested up to 100 pumpkins that he sold at between Ksh100 and Ksh300 each, which together with sales from other produce has been helping him support the family.
Joseph Nduva, an agriculture extension officer, says the growers are slowly moving from the notion that profits are separate from ecological and community health. “These farmers have come to understand that any farming system that neglects environmental and consumer well-being is unsustainable and bound to fail over time,” he says.
The programme targets smallholder farmers in arid or semi-arid areas who are part of a local group or organisation. It offers a structured training approach, beginning with a two-day session followed by continuous support to help farmers adopt regenerative practices.
Participants also receive access to essential farming inputs, with training delivered by a dedicated field team.
Enviu is leveraging on the power of partnerships to ensure as many farmers as possible are onboarded and their livelihoods transformed. “Over the past months, we have been testing and refining our regenerative agriculture business concepts, ensuring they are viable, impactful, and scalable.
As we move forward, we are focusing on solidifying these models, expanding our reach to more farmers, and building commercially sustainable businesses that drive long-term change,” said Ms Mutiso. In this, the programme has incorporated a strong network of partners who contribute to different aspects of the process. These partners include Biovision Africa Trust (BVAT) which helps with the implementation of the RA system by providing the needed support to farmers through trainings for knowledge transfer.
Rainforest Alliance helps with providing expertise on sustainable agricultural practices and certification while Organic Agriculture Centre of Kenya (OACK) supports organic farming techniques and soil health improvement initiatives. Not forgetting farmer groups and input providers which help with scaling impact, peer learning, and ensuring local ownership of regenerative practices while the later facilitate access to organic and regenerative-friendly farming inputs. The County Government of Makueni has also been a key partner in the programme by supporting policy alignment and promotes sustainable agriculture at the devolved unit level.
“As we move into the next phase, we are committed to strengthening these collaborations, expanding into new regions, and scaling regenerative agriculture as a commercially viable and impactful solution for smallholder farmers,” said Christine.
Funding
Initially, the programme has been funded by IKEA Foundation which provided financial support during the early work— including issue analysis, validation, and the building phase. “As the businesses are established and begin scaling, we seek investment from other investors to drive further growth,” said the programme manager.
Future plans
“We aim to scale regenerative agriculture by expanding to more farmers and regions through financially sustainable, locally driven businesses. Our focus is on restoring soil health, increasing yields, and building climate resilience.” In 2025, RA programme is set to onboard more farmers, expand into new counties, and strengthen partnerships in addition to enhancing grassroots and government advocacy to drive systemic change in the food system.