In the inland parts of Kenya, the first rays of sunlight reveal more than fields of coffee, dairy cattle, vegetables and tea. They illuminate stories of resilience, determination and a quiet revolution unfolding through farmer-owned cooperatives.
For decades, smallholder farmers have been the backbone of Kenya’s economy, yet many have struggled with unpredictable weather, limited access to quality markets, weak cooperative governance and inadequate financing. In Kenya, the toil and sweat of farmers have failed to pay off in most instances, as profiteers, in the form of middlemen, have made it difficult for farmers to maximize profits. Not just selling produce at a loss, farmers have constantly cried over the importation of products they can produce locally.
Climate change has only intensified these challenges, leaving countless families uncertain about the future.
Today, however, that narrative is gradually changing.
Working alongside farmer cooperatives, Agriterra, an international non-profit organization founded by the Dutch agricultural sector, is dedicated to strengthening farmers in sowing seeds of change in rural Kenya.
Rather than delivering short-term aid, Agriterra focuses on strengthening institutions that farmers themselves own and govern, enabling long-term economic sustainability.
Founded in 1997 to support farm organizations and agricultural cooperatives in developing economies, Agriterra formally began operations in Kenya in 2011 when the regional office serving East Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) was opened in Nairobi. It is from here that the organization opened its branches across Africa with the sole mandate of bringing individual farmers together into cooperatives and strengthening them with the resources, knowledge, and support needed to flourish.
Across Africa, Agriterra has bolstered Tomato farming in Burkina Faso, thereby enhancing food security; Cacao farming in Ghana, thereby improving the living standards of women directly involved; and pepper farming in Ghana through the Pepper Plus project, thereby addressing climate change.
In Tanzania, women have been empowered through avocado farming, and in Ethiopia, large-scale production of maize has cushioned rural women against hunger.
With its impact felt in three regions: West Africa, East & Central Africa and Asia, Agriterra is implementing projects mainly funded by the Dutch government through the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS).
In Kenya, Agriterra’s impact has been traced in rural coffee farms through Climate Resilient and Sustainable Agricultural Value Chains (CRLCSA), in dairy farming through the AgriGRADE project and in Farmer-Focused Transformation (FFT).
“We are implementing four main projects: Farmer-Focused Transformation (FFT) dairy value chain, FFT horticulture value chain, Tunza, a green climate-funded project being implemented in the Lake Region Economic Bloc, covering 14 counties,” said Country Manager Wilfred Chepkwony during an interview with The Africa Feature Network at their head office in Nairobi.
Wilfred reiterated that “Another project on food security is being implemented in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) counties to combat food and nutrition deficiencies, and a pilot programme named AgriGRADE is being implemented in Meru County in the dairy value chain.”
“When farmers organise themselves effectively, they gain bargaining power, access better markets, improve productivity and ultimately create wealth for their communities, and this is where we come in,” said Evalyne Njuguna, Regional Communication and Marketing Officer.
That philosophy has become the cornerstone of Agriterra’s work across Kenya, uniting farmers for a better farming experience.
Unlike many development programmes that work directly with individual farmers, Agriterra invests in strengthening farmer cooperatives. Many farmers struggle with finding a ready market for their produce, a gap that Agrittera is bridging. The organization links farm cooperatives with private sector players who purchase their produce during harvest.
“We have partnered with Bio Foods to purchase dairy products from Baringo farmers at a relatively good price for farmers. The price goes as high as Ksh 16 above the market price because of the quality we have put in place, said Chepkwony.
Similarly, Mburugu Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society benefited from Agriterra’s interactive ‘Governance Health Check’ session that encouraged participants to reflect on pragmatic governance practices.
Over 300 farmer organizations have been impacted in 20 plus countries. According to the Ministry of Cooperatives, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMES) Development, over 800 cooperatives have been registered, 1.2 million plus Sacco Membership achieved, 60% saving population, and 40% regulations and policies implemented. Agriterra targets duly registered cooperatives by the ministry.
For many farmers, this institutional strengthening has become the difference between surviving and thriving. Success stories are evident deep in rural communities.
Morris Maweu, a 24-year-old and a member of Kibwezi East Farmer Cooperative, is harvesting coffee on his farm. Apart from coffee, Morris grows cow peas, maize, pumpkins and rears livestock and pigeons.
Just one year ago, declining yields and unstable market prices took a toll on his farming.
Through climate-smart training techniques and market linkages by Agriterra, Morris learned improved agronomic practices, and his situation changed. Morris is among the many beneficiaries of the Agriterra project dubbed “Acting Now”, focused on boosting food security in targeted areas.
“Today, I see farming as a business,” said Morris as he emphasized that, “we now keep proper records, manage our farm better and earn more because our cooperative has improved how it serves us.
Over 500 Kms away from Kibwezi, we meet Francis Kigen, Chairman of the extension of the board of Baringo Agricultural Marketing Services Cooperative Societies Ltd (BAMSCOS).
From a distance, stretches of land bearing hay plantations with harvested and bundled stacks are evident. Along the farms, trucks are being loaded with stockpiles of hay, a sign that massive dairy production is ongoing.
BAMSCOS, a union farmer cooperative in Baringo, teamed up with KIT and Agriterra to strengthen and professionalize its extension services, and the result was improved incomes. The partnership enhanced BAMSCOS’ milk production capacity, which strengthened the union’s viability.
“Agriterra supported us in the intensification of the extension services, and these interventions pushed our members to increase their deliveries by 29% in 2025,” said Kigen, who additionally stated that “Agriterra supported our investment in the hay farm and proved to be an enabler and a catalyst of ambitious farm projects.”
Chepkwony narrates Agriterra’s journey with Kirima Slopes Dairy, a Murang’a-based cooperative whose potential was barely up to 60 litres of milk per day. Kirima Slopes Dairy supplied its milk to undisclosed processors in Kenya at a loss, as these processors were also receiving milk from other farmers. The high supply resulted in low demand, making the prices unfavourable.
Through a partnership with Agriterra, Kirima Slopes Dairy began turning its milk into long-life (UHT) milk by heating fresh, uncontaminated milk to extreme temperatures. This protected them from making losses due to rushed sales, with fears of milk going bad. They also began selling their milk directly to consumers, making maximum profits.
“As we speak, Kirima Dairy Slopes Cooperatives have an increased milk production, a milk processor, their milk available on supermarket shelves, and they are self-reliant,” highlighted Chepkwony as he reiterated with a smile of satisfaction that “those are the kind of impacts that Agriterra is making across Kenya.
“Our vision is to see cooperatives become drivers of sustainable and inclusive economic growth and agricultural transformation across Africa,” said Stijn van Geel, Agriterra’s Regional Manager, as he described climate change as a defining challenge facing Africa that must be collectively combated. Stijn urged both the youth and women to be at the frontline of Agriculture.
In Kenya, transformation extends beyond higher incomes.
“Farmers are central to all these projects. We want to improve their living standards through decent incomes and completely alleviate poverty in the long run,” said Chepkwony
Improved governance within cooperatives has increased transparency, strengthened members’ confidence, and, as a result, increased cooperative membership.
Young people who once viewed agriculture as an occupation of last resort are beginning to see it as a viable business opportunity, and women’s leadership is growing within cooperatives.
With the advent of Technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), farmers are embracing modernized strategies, diversification and sustainable farming methods that protect both livelihoods and the environment, an approach that Agriterra has endorsed.
“When our farmers are experiencing challenges on the farm, they simply take a photo, share, and then we examine it and recommend solutions instantaneously,” said Chepkwony, who reiterated that they only travel for physical inspection when the situation demands.
Across Kenya, Agriterra is supporting climate-resilient agriculture through initiatives that encourage improved soil management and restoration of degraded landscapes. The programme also promotes new business models and greater access to finance to help farmer organizations adapt to climate risks.
According to Evalyne Njuguna, communication and marketing lead, climate resilience is no longer an option.
“Farmers are already experiencing the effects of climate change through prolonged droughts, irregular rainfall and declining productivity. Our role is to ensure they have practical solutions to such threats.”
Those practical solutions range from climate-smart production practices to improved cooperative management and better market integration.
The goal is not merely to increase production but to build agricultural enterprises capable of withstanding unprecedented climatic changes. The goal is to build programmes that will remain sustainable long after donor funding ends.
Organizations such as SNB, IDH, and Oikocredit have been instrumental in Agriterra’s milestones, although funding is still a nightmare. This is evident as Agriterra supports only 15 farm cooperatives per project across Kenya, whereas many registered cooperatives can benefit from its rolled-out projects. According to Chepkwony, each cooperative has an average of approximately 3000 members, leaving many worthy farmers out.
As of 2025, Agriterra had reached 521,510 farmers, 36% and 12% of them being women and youths, respectively. Still, as of 2025, 1 tea, 11 dairy and 5 coffee cooperatives had been supported, and 1 dairy, 1 tea, 1 maize and 2 coffee unions had been impacted. with ground presence in 27 countries as of 2025, an increased impact is anticipated.
Regrettably, some project participants fail to adopt the tailor-made Agriterra trainings aimed at boosting production. Drastic weather patterns are also a hindrance.
“We can only advise on the best farming practices, but it is upon the individuals to embrace the training,” said Chekwony
In some areas that Agriterra has visited, land has sometimes been an issue. Fertile lands have been partitioned for other uses, leaving the communities in chronic food shortages.
As a solution to this, Agriterra, through its country manager, advised the legislative arm of the government to implement the Land Act and the Land Consolidation Act, stopping the division of agricultural land into uneconomically small parcels and providing a legal framework to combine the already fragmented parcels.
“Kitale and Uasin Gishu, for instance, used to produce a lot of maize and wheat for the country, and land fragmentation because of inheritance is no longer making it possible, and this can easily affect food security in our country,” said Chepkwony, who called out property developers using agricultural land.
As a sustainability mechanism, Agriterra relies not only on the Dutch government for funding. The organization relentlessly submit proposals to donor organizations to ensure that the impact they have created remains. Apart from funding, involving project participants throughout the phases of the running projects is a crucial sustainability approach, noted Chepkwony.
“Farmers should be allowed to give ideas because they best understand what is ailing their respective geographical regions,” said Evalyne, who reiterated the impact of effective communication and farmer engagement.
Amidst its vision of transforming rural Kenya and Africa, Agriterra’s approach aligns with Sustainable Development Goal: (SDG) 1: No Poverty – End poverty in all its forms everywhere; SDG 2: Zero Hunger – End hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainability which is at the core.
“We need intentional farmers who understand that Africa is at the tipping point, and we, as Agriterra, are here to help,” said Evalyne as she reaffirmed their vision of making agricultural impact beyond borders and into the world.
As we wrap the interview, Agriterra reminds African heads of state of the Malabo Declaration of June 2014, signed in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, which pushed for an allocation of 10% of public expenditure to agriculture. The commitments of the Malabo Declaration were: Ending hunger and malnutrition, reducing Africa’s poverty by at least 50% through inclusive agricultural growth, tripling the volume and value of intra-African agricultural trade to boost regional economies, enhancing climate-smart agriculture and encouraging the entry of women and youths into agribusiness.
Agriterra believes that if these Malabo commitments are upheld, farmers, through farm cooperatives, will be the driving force of continental growth.
