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CS Kagwe Calls for Worldwide Ban on Harmful Farm Chemicals at Nairobi Forum

Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has raised the alarm over the continued sale of dangerous farm chemicals in developing countries, making a forceful call for unified global standards to end what he described as blatant “double standards in the regulation and distribution of agricultural inputs.” His remarks drew significant attention from delegates at the high-profile international gathering held in Kenya’s capital.

Kagwe delivered his address during the World Farmers Organization Annual Meeting 2026 in Nairobi, using the platform to shine a light on a deep-rooted inequality in global agri-chemical regulation. The Cabinet Secretary pointed out that while developed nations have moved decisively to prohibit certain chemicals due to documented risks to human health and the environment, those very same products continue to flow freely into markets across Africa and other developing regions, often with little regulatory resistance.

For farmers working the land, this is far from an abstract policy matter. In Borabu, Nyamira County, farmers such as Douglas Ndege can be seen applying herbicides to bean crops — a routine scene repeated across Kenya’s agricultural heartland. What many smallholder farmers may not realise is that some of the chemical products they handle on a daily basis have already been deemed too hazardous for use in Europe and North America, where safety thresholds are considerably more stringent.

Kagwe’s appeal was aimed squarely at governments, regulatory bodies, and industry stakeholders across the globe. He called on all parties to close the gap that allows chemical manufacturers to redirect products banned in their home countries to less regulated markets in Africa. The CS argued that this practice is not only deeply unfair but also poses grave risks to the health and livelihoods of millions of farming families who lack the resources to protect themselves from harmful inputs.

Kenya’s position, as articulated by Kagwe, is unambiguous: no nation should be treated as a disposal market for chemicals that richer countries have deemed unfit for their own citizens. This stance reflects a growing consensus among African governments that global trade and regulatory frameworks too often disadvantage smallholder farmers who are the backbone of food production on the continent.

By raising this issue at the World Farmers Organization forum in Nairobi, Kagwe placed Kenya at the forefront of a push for international agricultural reform. His message to the global community was direct — uniform safety standards for agricultural chemicals are not a privilege reserved for wealthy nations but a basic right for every farmer, regardless of where in the world they till their land.

Agriculture

How the 4K Club Is Turning Kenya’s School Learners Into Sustainable Farming Champions

At St Joseph’s Kamusinde School in Bungoma County, a quiet revolution is taking root — quite literally. Students at the institution have found a renewed connection with the land through the 4K Club, an initiative backed by The Anglican Development Services (ADS) Western. What was once considered tedious or even a form of punishment has become a hands-on pathway to environmental stewardship.

For years, farming in Kenyan schools carried a heavy stigma. It was regularly used as a disciplinary tool, breeding resentment rather than passion for the land. The 4K Club is actively dismantling that legacy by immersing learners in regenerative agriculture — a modern approach centred on restoring soil health, promoting biodiversity, and building the climate resilience that Kenya’s farming communities urgently need.

Club members are not merely reading about agriculture — they are practising it. Through lessons in composting, mulching, crop diversification, and soil conservation, students are acquiring skills with real-world value. The club’s chairperson, Dominick Simiyu Wekesa, captures the spirit of the experience: “The club has allowed us to learn by doing. We are learning how healthy soils, good farming practices, and environmental conservation are connected.”

The programme’s ripple effect is already visible beyond the school gate. Club member Elizabeth Nasimiyu has taken on the role of an informal ambassador within her own household, sharing what she has learnt with her family. “Through the club, I have learned how to improve soil fertility using locally available materials,” she says — a skill of particular value in communities where commercial agricultural inputs remain expensive and hard to access.

Alfred Wafula Mulongo, the club’s patron, believes the programme’s greatest strength lies in this transfer of knowledge — from classroom and school garden to the family shamba. “When learners understand why they should protect the soil, conserve water, and diversify crops, they carry that knowledge home,” he explains. That multiplier effect means a single school initiative can generate benefits across entire communities.

The urgency behind such programmes cannot be overstated. Climate change continues to destabilise Kenya’s agricultural systems through erratic rainfall, prolonged dry spells, and widespread soil degradation, placing enormous pressure on the next generation of food producers. At St Joseph’s Kamusinde, the 4K Club is giving young Kenyans both the practical tools and the environmental understanding to confront those challenges directly — turning food security from an abstract national concern into something personal, tangible, and actionable.

Agriculture

How Climate-Smart Farming Is Turning the Tide on Hunger in Kenya’s ASALs

For generations, Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands — regions that stretch across a vast portion of the country — have been defined by scorching heat, erratic rainfall, and the ever-present threat of drought. Communities in these areas grew accustomed to depending on relief food as a lifeline whenever dry seasons turned severe, with little expectation of breaking the cycle on their own terms.

That picture is changing in Makindu, Makueni County, where smallholder farmers are embracing a new set of climate-smart agricultural practices designed to work with nature rather than against it. Techniques such as ripping — which breaks up compacted soil hardpans — alongside zai pits for rainwater harvesting, mulching to lock in soil moisture, crop diversification, and timely climate advisories are helping farmers produce food even during the most difficult growing seasons.

The shift has been deeply personal for some. Josephine Mwende recalls the humiliation of being excluded during a relief food distribution and made a firm decision that her household would never rely on handouts again. Today, whenever food aid is announced in her area, Mwende is out working her land instead — a powerful symbol of what agricultural self-sufficiency can restore.

Fellow farmer Rebecca Kioko credits ripping as the single biggest change on her plot. The technology allows rainwater to penetrate beneath the hardpan layer and remain available in the soil for far longer than before. Cowpea crops that once struggled to survive past June now continue yielding well into October and beyond. Her maize harvest has also tripled — jumping from two bags to six bags per season — a result that has transformed how her family eats throughout the year.

Beyond individual farms, the Kimatwa Women’s Sacco in Makueni has become a community-driven engine for scaling these innovations. Backed by World Bank funding channelled through the CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project, the Sacco offers its members affordable loans at a two percent reducing balance rate, alongside training and hands-on technical support. Membership has grown from 600 to 870 farmers since the interventions began — clear evidence of how quickly communities rally around solutions that deliver real results.

The stakes extend well beyond Makueni’s borders. Across Africa’s arid and semi-arid zones, over 255 million people are currently living with hunger, yet adoption of suitable farming technologies sits at only 30 percent, held back by financial, technical, and socio-cultural barriers. Agricultural researchers are unequivocal on the economics: every dollar invested in agricultural research generates ten dollars in returns.

Development experts and stakeholders stress that placing women and youth at the centre of technology adoption could double or even triple agricultural output across the region. Getting there will demand genuine coordination — bringing together national and county governments, the private sector, development partners, and academic institutions not as separate actors, but as committed partners working toward the same goal.

Agriculture

Loitokitok Court Arraigns Suspect Caught Smuggling Unregistered Pesticides from Tanzania

A man has been arraigned before the Loitokitok Law Courts on charges of smuggling unregistered pesticides into Kenya from neighbouring Tanzania, in what authorities describe as part of a continuing crackdown on illegal agro-chemical trade along the border region.

The accused was intercepted by officers at the Nkama Police Roadblock while transporting the prohibited chemicals, with the illicit cargo reportedly earmarked for distribution in Kimana and Mashuru. Security agencies have been intensifying surveillance along the Kenya-Tanzania corridor, where unregistered and counterfeit agricultural inputs have become a mounting problem for traders and farmers alike.

When the case was called before the court, the defendant denied the charges levelled against him, entering a plea of not guilty. The magistrate granted him bail on financial terms: he may secure his release by depositing a cash bail of Ksh 300,000, or in the alternative, by furnishing a bond of Ksh 500,000 accompanied by a surety of equivalent value. The matter is set to proceed once those conditions are satisfied.

In the wake of the arrest, the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) moved promptly to put the broader trading community on notice. The regulatory body stated in no uncertain terms that “Any individual found engaging in such activities will be prosecuted and subjected to the full force of the law,” making clear that enforcement would extend well beyond the single suspect already in the dock.

The PCPB further stressed that buying, selling, or trafficking in pest control products that are either unregistered or smuggled into the country constitutes a criminal violation under Kenyan law. Every pesticide traded or applied within Kenya must first complete the board’s official registration process, which exists to verify safety, efficacy, and proper labelling before any product reaches the hands of farmers or retailers.

The Loitokitok area straddles the Kenya-Tanzania boundary in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro and serves as a busy commercial corridor between the two countries. Farmers across the surrounding Kajiado County depend heavily on pesticides to protect their crops, making the infiltration of unregistered chemicals a serious public health and food safety concern — such products bypass quality checks entirely and may contain substances harmful to people, livestock, and the environment.

Authorities are now calling on farmers, agro-dealers, and stockists throughout the region to purchase pest control products exclusively from licensed and registered suppliers. Any person with information about the illegal trade in pesticides is encouraged to contact the PCPB or the nearest police station so that the matter can be investigated promptly.

Agriculture

Partnerships, Not Problems, Will Fix Africa’s Food Security — Experts

Africa’s agricultural systems are under mounting pressure from climate change, persistent soil degradation, and widening food deficits. Yet researchers and agricultural specialists who convened at Kenya’s Kalro Scientific Conference carried a markedly different message: the solutions already exist on the continent. The real obstacle, they insist, is getting those solutions to scale.

A side event organised by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT drew particular attention from delegates. The alliance’s Africa Managing Director stated plainly that the continent “already has the innovation, talent and partnerships needed to transform its food systems.” The gathering’s consensus was that the priority must now shift from developing new answers to rapidly deploying the ones already proven in research facilities — and getting them into the hands of smallholder farmers across the region.

Among the most promising innovations on display were newly developed bean varieties engineered to thrive under modern farming pressures. These improved cultivars mature within 65 to 75 days — significantly faster than conventional varieties — and can yield as much as two tonnes per hectare. One standout variety, named “Waithera,” combines quicker cooking times with enhanced nutritional content and improved resilience to erratic weather patterns increasingly common across the continent.

The urgency behind this work is not hard to appreciate for Kenyan farmers and consumers alike. The country currently produces roughly 650,000 metric tonnes of beans each year, yet domestic consumption stands at 750,000 metric tonnes — a shortfall that forces Kenya to import beans in substantial quantities. Researchers at the conference argued that wider adoption of high-performing varieties like Waithera could meaningfully narrow this gap while simultaneously boosting the profitability of smallholder farmers through better seed-to-harvest ratios.

Beans are not only a food crop — they are a soil crop too. As legumes, bean plants draw nitrogen from the atmosphere and fix it directly into the soil, naturally reducing farmers’ reliance on costly synthetic fertilisers. When incorporated into crop rotation or intercropping systems, they can progressively restore soil fertility, a critical advantage given the widespread land degradation affecting farmland across East Africa and beyond.

Agricultural experts at the conference were careful to note, however, that supply-side gains alone will not complete the transformation. Nutrition specialists argued that consumers must also be brought into the conversation — understanding the nutritional value different foods carry and learning which preparation methods preserve those nutrients rather than destroying them.

The overall message from Kalro was one of cautious optimism. Africa’s food security challenge is real and urgent, but the tools, knowledge, and networks to address it are already present. What remains is the collective will — across governments, research institutions, private sector players, and farming communities — to scale them without further delay.

Agriculture

Desperation at Eldoret NCPB Depot as Fertiliser Crisis Grips North Rift Farmers

Desperation has gripped hundreds of farmers across Kenya’s North Rift region, with many resorting to camping outside the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depot in Eldoret in a bid to secure topdressing fertiliser. The shortage has arrived at one of the most sensitive moments in the maize growing calendar, fuelling deep anxiety about food production across the region this season.

At the centre of the crisis is a severe deficit of Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN), the fertiliser that North Rift farmers rely on to boost their maize crops during the crucial growth stage. Without sufficient topdressing, yields are expected to suffer significantly — a prospect that is alarming smallholder farmers and food security observers in equal measure.

The human cost is perhaps best captured by Jane Kwambai, who has spent an entire week camped at the depot after making multiple expensive trips from Kiplombe to Eldoret City. “I have spent a lot of money on the road traveling to Eldoret City from Kiplombe to get topdressing fertiliser,” she told reporters. Despite placing an order for ten bags of CAN, she was informed she would receive only three — a fraction of the quantity her crops require.

NCPB regional manager Gilbert Rotich attributed the shortage to unusually high demand for inputs this season, offering assurance that a consignment of over 3.2 million bags would reach farmers within two weeks. Yet a separate source within the board told reporters that transporters are also a contributing factor, having demanded extra pay following recent fuel price increases — a dispute that has disrupted timely distribution across the region.

Kenya Farmers Association (KFA) Director Kipkorir Menjo was candid in his criticism of how government agencies have handled the situation. He highlighted what he described as a glaring coordination failure: planting fertiliser was being pushed out at the precise moment farmers required topdressing, and topdressing supplies were arriving when it was time to plant. This cycle of mismatched distribution, he argued, points to a deeper structural breakdown in the fertiliser supply chain.

Menjo went further, warning that unless the topdressing shortfall is resolved urgently, Kenya’s maize output for the current season will take a significant knock — with the North Rift, widely regarded as the country’s grain basket, bearing the heaviest burden. He called on President Ruto to intervene directly and cut through the distribution bottleneck before the planting window shuts entirely.

With the season already well advanced and every day mattering for crop nutrition, farmers camped at the Eldoret depot say returning home without fertiliser is simply not an option. For communities whose livelihoods and food security depend almost entirely on maize, the pressure to leave with something — anything — has never felt more acute.

Agriculture

Agroecology Gains Ground in Kiambu and Murang’a as Farmers Turn Away from Chemical Agriculture

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.

Agriculture

Meru Coffee Farmer Opens Door to US Market, Calls on Kenyan Growers to Scale Up

Charles Mutwiri, the proprietor of Mukarimu Coffee Estates in Meru County, has brought home a promising report from his recent visit to California — American buyers are eager for Kenyan coffee, and there are firm orders on the table. Mutwiri, recently appointed as a director of the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (NKPCU), says the US market is wide open for Kenyan growers willing to rise to the challenge.

Speaking about his findings, Mutwiri revealed that California-based buyers are demanding no fewer than four containers of coffee every month. Each container carries 320 bags, with each bag weighing 50 kilograms — a monthly requirement that runs to over 64 tonnes of processed coffee. While Mutwiri’s own estate is capable of producing up to 200,000 kilograms annually, he was candid that no single farmer can fill that gap alone. The solution, he insists, is for farmers to band together and scale up as a collective.

The road to meeting those volumes, however, is not without its hurdles. Mutwiri noted that buyers were impressed when they cupped his coffee samples, but they were equally firm on one condition: they need reliability. Consistent quality delivered in large quantities is the benchmark that global buyers hold Kenyan producers to, and the country’s fragmented smallholder structure makes that difficult to achieve without proper coordination. To help bridge that gap, Mutwiri has been investing his time in training farmers across several counties — including Laikipia, Tharaka Nithi, and parts of Western Kenya — on modern and improved agricultural practices.

One of the more significant shifts Mutwiri is championing is a change in crop variety. He is moving away from Ruiru 11 — long a staple on Kenyan farms — and transitioning to SL28. His reasoning is straightforward: SL28 is more productive, capable of yielding up to 100 kilograms per bush. Although the variety comes with higher disease management demands, Mutwiri is convinced that the improvement in profitability more than justifies the additional effort.

A concern shared by both Mutwiri and exporter Eva Muthuri is the ageing profile of Kenya’s coffee farming community. The two have been vocal advocates for drawing younger Kenyans into the sector, warning that the country risks losing significant ground to regional competitors. Ethiopia and Uganda are expanding their coffee footprints aggressively, and without fresh energy and investment from the next generation, Kenya could find itself edged out of premium markets it has long dominated.

The message from Mutwiri’s California trip is ultimately one of opportunity — but only for those prepared to act on it. Kenya’s coffee has earned its premium reputation on the global stage over many decades, and the demand from buyers is clearly there. What remains is for farmers, cooperatives, and exporters to align their efforts, increase volumes, and deliver consistently at the scale that international markets now require.

Agriculture

KALRO Bets on Forgotten Indigenous Fruits to Secure Kenya’s Food Future

Kenya’s premier agricultural research body is throwing its weight behind nearly 100 fruit species that have long been left on the sidelines, arguing they hold the key to the country’s food security and the economic uplift of rural communities. The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) made its case at a recent scientific conference, presenting varieties such as gooseberries, jackfruit, and guavas as climate-smart crops carrying serious commercial potential for local farmers and entrepreneurs.

From that broader pool of neglected species, KALRO researchers have zeroed in on 20 priority fruits, a shortlist drawn up on the basis of market demand and resilience to Kenya’s increasingly unpredictable weather. Vincent Ochieng, a scientist at the Food Crops Research Centre, argues that these overlooked fruits are ideally suited to anchor cottage industries in rural areas, creating openings for small-scale processing ventures and the jobs that come with them.

Of everything currently under KALRO’s fruit programme, the gooseberry has emerged as the clearest proof that the strategy can work. What started as activity confined to research plots has expanded into full commercial farming across Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, and Kakamega counties. The gooseberry’s real selling point is its flexibility: farmers and processors can derive more than 10 distinct products from it — juice, jams, wine, and pickles among them — each representing an opportunity to capture better returns than selling raw fruit alone.

The case for these fruits goes beyond economics. Guava, to take one prominent example, is a nutritional standout, packed with vitamin C, dietary fibre, magnesium, and potassium. Many of the species identified by KALRO also tolerate dry conditions well, which positions them as a practical option for communities in water-scarce parts of the country. Given how seriously climate change is bearing down on Kenyan agriculture, drought tolerance is no small advantage.

For all the optimism, the researchers are candid about what is holding this push back. Inadequate funding, thin public awareness, and a general absence of deliberate promotion mean that most Kenyans are yet to take these fruits seriously, either as a dietary choice or a livelihood opportunity. The potential exists — the demand side simply has not been developed yet.

To shift that reality, KALRO is advocating for these fruits to be folded into school feeding programmes nationwide, a step that would simultaneously improve the nutritional quality of meals for learners and guarantee a steady off-take market for farmers. Researchers are also pressing investors and policymakers to back the creation of dedicated processing industries — infrastructure that would give the sector a sustainable economic foundation and move it well beyond the pilot stage.

Agriculture

Kenya’s New Dairy Payment Model Promises Higher Returns for Quality Milk Producers

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has unveiled plans to overhaul how Kenya’s dairy farmers get paid, announcing a move away from the longstanding volume-based pricing model toward one that rewards the quality of milk produced. The announcement came during a dairy cooperative meeting held in Nyeri County, signalling a major shift in how the government intends to support the sector going forward.

Under the new arrangement, farmers will be compensated based on the composition of their milk — specifically its protein and butterfat content — rather than simply on how many litres they deliver. This approach is designed to encourage the production of higher-grade milk that is better suited for processing into value-added products such as cheese and yogurt, categories that have seen growing demand both locally and across the region.

“Moving forward, milk pricing will reward quality because that is what will drive value addition and better returns for our farmers,” Kagwe stated, making clear that the government views this transition as central to unlocking greater economic benefit from the dairy industry.

However, the change will not happen overnight. Kagwe acknowledged that the full rollout of quality-based pricing faces a logistical hurdle — milk-testing equipment is not yet installed at all collection centres across the country. The CS urged farmers to be patient but proactive, strongly encouraging them to join or remain active within cooperatives. Membership, he noted, gives farmers stronger collective bargaining power and better access to formal markets — advantages that will be critical as the new pricing structure gradually takes hold.

Kenya’s dairy industry is no small matter. The country produces roughly 5.4 billion litres of milk every year, making it the largest milk-producing nation on the African continent. The sector is a lifeline for many smallholder farmers, where dairy farming underpins rural livelihoods and contributes directly to household food security.

Despite this scale, many individual farmers — particularly those who sell milk outside cooperative structures — regularly fall prey to middlemen and brokers offering unpredictable and often exploitative prices. The shift to a quality-driven payment model, paired with stronger cooperative membership, is being positioned by the government as a way to shield farmers from such exploitation while simultaneously aligning Kenya’s dairy output with the demands of a more sophisticated processing industry.

For farmers willing to invest in improving their herds and feeding practices, the new model promises a genuine opportunity to earn more — not simply by milking more cows, but by milking better ones.

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