A quiet but significant shift is under way in Kenya’s Central region, where farmers in Kiambu and Murang’a counties are increasingly abandoning chemical-heavy farming methods in favour of agroecological approaches. The change is being driven by a widening awareness of the long-term health and environmental costs of synthetic inputs — and by organisations determined to offer practical alternatives at the farm level.
More than 300 farmers recently came together at Ruhiu Organic Farm in Kiambu for a hands-on training session centred on value addition for organic produce. The event was jointly convened by PELUM Kenya, COSDEP, and the Kiambu County Government, and gave participants concrete guidance on how to eliminate synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers from their operations while transitioning to biodegradable biopesticide alternatives.
Soil health specialists at the forum delivered a sobering message: the continued application of synthetic chemicals is actively killing off the microorganisms that keep farmland productive, causing long-term declines in soil fertility. Margaret Nduta added that the sector must also pay closer attention to the quality of organic animal feed, which she said must conform to established standards if organic value chains are to be taken seriously by buyers.
Dr. Nehemiah Mihindo, Chief Executive Officer of IPM, offered an encouraging perspective on the capacity of Kenyan smallholder farmers to make the transition. “Farmers have the capacity to practise organic farming, as more organisations are providing information on agroecology to them,” he said, pointing to a growing network of support structures that are helping close the knowledge gap at the grassroots level.
PELUM Kenya official Moraa Ratemo urged farmers to lean into regenerative methods including organic manure, intercropping, and soil restoration practices. She observed that those who follow proper organic standards are already reaping the benefits, with buyers increasingly able to tell the difference — and willing to reward that commitment to quality with better market returns.
In Murang’a County, PELUM Kenya is running parallel efforts to embed organic farming into the agricultural mainstream. The organisation is partnering with local farmer groups to deliver community-level training, value-addition workshops, and policy advocacy, while also working to establish a demonstration hub that will make sustainable agriculture visible and replicable for farmers who are still on the fence.
Taken together, the two counties are beginning to look like a blueprint for what a scalable agroecology movement could look like in Kenya. With farmer willingness, organisational expertise, and county government support all aligning, advocates say there is no reason the model cannot be extended to other parts of the country — particularly as pressure on the agricultural sector to go greener continues to intensify.
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