Scaling Sustainable Practices to Build Resilient Agrifood Systems
The agriculture sector is a cornerstone of Kenya’s economy, contributing about 20 percent of GDP and providing livelihoods for more than 40 percent of the population, including over 70 percent of rural households. Beyond Kenya, agriculture underpins food security, employment, and economic growth across Africa. However, agrifood systems are under increasing strain from climate change, environmental degradation, and structural weaknesses that threaten long-term sustainability and resilience.
Climate variability is one of the most significant risks facing agriculture in Kenya. Prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall, and floods are disrupting production systems, particularly for smallholder farmers who are highly exposed to weather shocks. These impacts reduce crop yields, increase pest and disease outbreaks, and destabilize markets. 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.
Declining soil health further constrains agricultural productivity. Years of continuous cultivation without sufficient nutrient replenishment, combined with erosion and loss of organic matter, have degraded soil fertility across much of sub-Saharan Africa. With more than 65 percent of soils estimated to be nutrient-depleted, the effectiveness of improved seeds and fertilizers is diminished, undermining efforts to raise yields and build resilience.
Although many promising innovations exist, including improved crop varieties, regenerative agriculture practices, water management technologies, and digital advisory services, their adoption at scale remains slow. Barriers include weak extension systems, limited access to affordable finance, fragmented input and output markets, and policy and institutional gaps. Traditional extension models alone are insufficient to drive rapid transformation, highlighting the need for farmer-led learning, digital platforms, public–private partnerships, and blended finance approaches to accelerate uptake.
In response to these challenges, the CGIAR launched the Scaling for Impact Program, a dedicated initiative focused on scaling innovations in food, land, and water systems. The program applies transdisciplinary scaling science and places partnerships at its core to generate evidence, align innovation supply and demand, strengthen policy and market environments, unlock catalytic finance, and promote continuous learning. Through this framework, the program aims to move innovations from research into large-scale, inclusive impact aligned with long-term development targets.
A multi-day workshop held under the Scaling for Impact framework brought together researchers, policymakers, extension agents, private sector actors, and farmers to share experiences on scaling sustainable practices. The workshop focused on strategies to enhance resilience, restore soil health, and improve farmer livelihoods, while strengthening collaboration and co-developing actionable recommendations tailored to different contexts.
Participants examined diverse case studies from across Kenya that demonstrated how participatory approaches, such as farmer-led demonstrations, peer learning, and field-based experimentation, can build trust and accelerate adoption. Initiatives promoting crop diversification, conservation agriculture, climate-smart practices, and improved livestock feed systems showed tangible benefits in productivity, income generation, and resilience to climate shocks when combined with strong extension support and local leadership.
Gender and social inclusion emerged as critical enablers of successful scaling. Programs that integrated technical innovations with social interventions, including gender dialogues, nutrition awareness, and youth engagement, achieved higher uptake and more equitable outcomes. Empowering women and addressing restrictive norms strengthened household decision-making, improved nutrition, and enhanced overall resilience.
Market-led and enterprise-focused approaches also proved essential for sustainability. Linking farmers to input suppliers, mechanization services, financial institutions, and output markets increased incentives to adopt new practices. Models such as farmer service centers, village-based advisors, and value chain platforms helped bridge gaps between smallholders, the private sector, and public institutions, enabling agriculture to function more effectively as a business.
Financial inclusion played a key role in accelerating adoption of climate-smart and regenerative practices. Community-based savings and credit systems enabled farmers to invest in improved inputs, manage risks, and diversify livelihoods. When combined with extension and market access, these financial models reduced vulnerability to climate shocks and supported long-term improvements in productivity and income.
Despite notable progress, significant challenges to scaling persist. Climate volatility, limited access to tools and quality inputs, social and gender constraints, weak extension capacity, market volatility, and fragmented policies continue to hinder widespread adoption. Infrastructure gaps, regulatory hurdles, and the prevalence of counterfeit inputs further undermine farmer confidence and private sector investment.
Overall, the experiences highlighted in the workshop underscore that scaling sustainable agriculture requires integrated, context-specific approaches rooted in community ownership and long-term commitment. Bundling technological, social, financial, and market interventions, supported by strong partnerships and enabling policies, is essential for building resilient agrifood systems. These lessons provide a foundation for advancing sustainable agriculture in Kenya and offer insights that are relevant across the wider African context.
