Kenya

• Short description: Aflatoxin in crops like maize, sorghum, and groundnuts poses health risks and limits trade. Low awareness of aflatoxin risks remains a challenge. Addresses health risks and trade limitations posed by aflatoxin in crops like maize, sorghum, and groundnuts, and tackles low awareness. IITA developed and transferred the AflasafeKE01 technology to the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), a proven, cost-effective biological product significantly reducing aflatoxin contamination.
• Outcomes: Improved public health, enhanced Food Security by reducing post-harvest losses, spurred trade, and supported Import Reduction. A state-of-the-art mycotoxin laboratory and a modular Aflasafe manufacturing plant were established at KALRO Katumani through a partnership between KALRO and IITA, supporting both monitoring and production. This plant is fully operational, producing up to five tons per day, and is managed by KALRO staff with the support of IITA technical experts.
• Donor/ Partners: Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), Ministry of Agriculture, National Irrigation Board, and county governments.

• Short description: IITA focuses on transforming major tropical crops, including banana, cassava, enset, yam, maize, and tomato, using cutting-edge biotechnology, including precision genetics, molecular breeding, transgenic, and genome editing techniques. This aims to develop improved varieties with disease resistance and stress tolerance traits.
• Outcomes: Key crop improvements
  Promising banana varieties resistant to Xanthomonas wilt and banana streak virus are ready for field trials; development of semi-dwarf yam varieties; maize varieties to combat Striga weed; tomato varieties with extended shelf life, drought tolerance, and disease resistance; high-yield, locally adapted soybean varieties (SB 19, SB 8), reducing imports and boosting food security.
  Capacity building: IITA’s Plant Transgenic and Genome Editing Platform plays a pivotal role in building biotechnology capacity across sub-Saharan Africa by training scientists, regulators, and communicators through short-term and professional development programs. Over 400 researchers trained in transgenic and genome editing through IITA’s programs. Collaborating with global and regional partners, it offers intensive hands-on CRISPR training and supports postgraduate research, cultivating the next generation of scientific leaders equipped to advance genome editing technologies.

• Short description: Soybean
  High-yield, locally adapted varieties (SB 19, SB 8) to reduce imports and boost food security. IITA’s soybean projects significantly contribute to the government’s priority of reducing imports. Kenya is a significant net importer of soybeans and their products. IITA increases adoption and production through developing high-yielding, locally adapted varieties like SB 19 and SB 8 (released with KALRO Njoro).
• Outcomes: This boosts productivity, enhances food security, and addresses malnutrition. We test genotypes for adaptation to high altitudes, opening up new production areas.
• Alignment with government priorities: Enhances Food Security, boosts Agricultural Productivity, targets Import Reduction (soybean), strengthens Value Chains, creates Economic Opportunities, and leverages Science, Technology, and Innovation in agriculture.

• Short Description: Addresses declining soil fertility and nematode pests. IITA leads soil health research and nature-based restoration interventions in partnership with ICIPE, the Alliance of Bioversity International, CIAT, and KALRO. This includes soil sampling and analysis to inform the design of targeted interventions.
• Outcomes: Improved soil health management, resulting in enhanced agricultural productivity.
  NemAfrica Hub: The NemAfrica Hub, established in collaboration with ICIPE, serves as Kenya’s regional hub for nematology and soil health. The largest nematology lab in sub-Saharan Africa (outside South Africa), focusing on research, diagnostics, and capacity building.
• Capacity building: IITA contributes to the International Master of Science in Agro-and Environmental Nematology, having directly supervised 78 Kenyan postgraduates and trained 55 MSc students.
• Donor/Partners: icipe, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, KALRO, Ghent University.

Short description:
Frontier food systems are essential yet vulnerable, and they are expanding in size. By 2050, 2/3 of the world’s extreme poor will reside in fragile settings, 70% of the global population will live in cities, and small islands will face increasing exposure to supply chain vulnerability and climate-related risks. CGIAR Food Frontiers and Security Program is a transdisciplinary research enterprise with global application and national impact for Frontier Food Systems.

The CGIAR Food Frontiers and Security Science Program enhances food security and resilience in fragile and conflict-affected urban, peri-urban, and island food systems—the three iconic “Frontier Food Systems” of the Anthropocene. These systems are increasingly vulnerable to external shocks such as conflict, institutional fragility, urbanization, and climate change, while also grappling with severe land and space constraints and dependence on external supply chains. As their influence on global food systems grows, the program leverages strategic partnerships to deliver evidence-based policy, programming, and innovation solutions to build resilience and ensure long-term food security in these critical contexts.

Capacity building: Targeted support and training for key stakeholders, including government agencies, learning institutions (primary, secondary, and tertiary), farmers, youth groups, and agripreneurs such as seedling propagators.

Partners: The program is supported by several CGIAR organisations: CIP, ILRI, IITA, and the World Vegetable Center. IITA and the World Vegetable Center are focusing on empowering city governments and partners to strengthen urban food systems. This will be achieved through initiatives to improve organic waste recycling, ensure safe wastewater reuse, enhance food safety, create employment opportunities for young people, and expand access to fresh, safe, nutritious, and affordable food, particularly in low-income areas.

IITA has focused on improving vegetable production by promoting kitchen gardens and advocating for clean planting materials, particularly through the use of vegetable tray seedlings. This includes many vegetables, including African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) such as nightshade and amaranthus. The approach involves setting up demonstration plots with farmers and learning institutions, participating in farmer field days, conducting training sessions, and establishing satellite propagation units in partnership with other organizations.

Outcomes:

• Increased production of safe, fresh, and nutritious vegetables in both peri-urban and urban areas.
• Using clean planting materials improves yields and quality from production to harvest.
• Promotion of a bio-circular system through the reuse and recycling of organic waste.
• · Implementation of these outcomes across multiple levels: household, learning institutions, businesses, communities, and government.

Short description: The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) serves as the Executing Agency for the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), a flagship program under the African Development Bank’s Feed Africa Strategy. In this role, IITA coordinates a consortium of CGIAR centers and advanced agricultural research institutions to deploy proven technologies across 11 key commodities, including cassava, fish, livestock, maize, vegetables (okra, tomatoes, amaranth), wheat, sorghum, millet, high iron beans, rice, orange-fleshed sweet potato, and soybean. TAAT also manages three cross-cutting thematic compacts focusing on policy, youth empowerment, and capacity development.

TAAT is helping Kenyan farmers increase their food production by providing them with access to improved seeds, effective farming practices, and simple yet effective technologies. In Kenya and across the continent, TAAT connects research directly to farming communities, translating innovations that have led to high yields into fundamental tools that help farmers improve their production, conserve land nutrients, create jobs, especially for women and youth, and increase their annual incomes. TAAT supports Kenya’s national agricultural investment priorities by aligning with the government’s strategies, ensuring that public resources are channeled into interventions that deliver measurable impact.

Partners: To entrench sustainability, TAAT works with National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES), Ministries of Agriculture, the private sector, farmer-based organizations, Sub-regional organizations (SROs), and Non-Governmental Organizations. TAAT’s approach of deploying proven technologies is designed to save time and reduce risk by adapting what already works in similar agro-ecologies, with the support of local researchers, scientists, extension officers, and private sector players. It’s not just about introducing new technology. TAAT works to strengthen elements of the food system delivery infrastructure by engaging with Kenyan institutions, seed companies, farmer cooperatives, and agribusinesses to bring these solutions into the hands of farmers, supporting both on- and off-farm activities.

Capacity building: Farmers across Kenya are accessing these technologies through on-farm demonstrations, farmer field schools, and agro-dealers, allowing them to see the results firsthand and adopt them with confidence.
In Kenya, IITA is especially leading the implementation of two compacts, including;

1. Enable youth compact: IITA focuses on the implementation of youth-targeted empowerment programs through the provision of technical support in drafting bankable business plans, linkage to lenders, in-kind support to produce TAAT-promoted commodities, acquisition of small-scale mechanization tools such as hand-held tillers and power sprayers, and market linkages, among others. So far, over 30,000 youth in Kenya have been reached by IITA through the Enable Youth Compact. One of the leading youth groups supported is the Kibwezi Hortipreneur Youth Group (KHYG), which is producing on 5 acres of land provided by the University of Nairobi, located at the Kibwezi Dryland Field Station in Makueni County.
2. Soybean: The compact has trained 14,728 farmers on climate-smart agricultural production technologies and availed over 60MT of seed as of Q2 2025. IITA, through the Soybean compact, is also leading the development of a national soybean seed roadmap to enhance production and distribution of certified seed for improved varieties being promoted under the TAAT project.

• Short description: IITA is actively involved in soybean value chain development. Aims to strengthen the soybean seed system by partnering with KALRO Seeds to enhance production of early generation and certified seeds, as well as promote Biofix inoculant. IITA is actively involved in developing the soybean value chain. Through the N2Africa project, IITA supported the formation of six Soybean Resource Centres (SRCs), providing farmers with information on processes and market access. The Enable TAAT program trains farmers on the soybean value chain as a business
• Outcomes: Supported the formation of six Soybean Resource Centres (SRCs), providing farmers with information and market access.
• Quality inputs: IITA strengthens the soybean seed system through the TAAT project by partnering with KALRO seeds to enhance the production of early generation and certified seeds. This addresses the lack of quality seed, a constraint to soybean adoption. Promotion of Biofix inoculant provides another crucial input.
• Donor/Partners: KALRO seeds.

• Field research:
• Short description: IITA conducts field research across several counties in Kenya, with notable activities in Busia, Kwale, Makueni, Kilifi, and Kakamega. These on-the-ground efforts are vital for testing and scaling up of improved crop varieties, soil health interventions, and aflatoxin control technologies.

• Short description: Established in collaboration with the CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program (SFP), this initiative promotes sustainable agricultural practices in Kenya by addressing food systems’ ecological, social, and economic dimensions. It allows diverse stakeholders—including government agencies, NGOs, civil society organizations, and private sector entities—to collaborate and advance regenerative food systems. The program is actively engaged in cross-cutting initiatives to inform context-specific innovations and integrated solutions across the Central Highlands Ecological Highlands (CHEF). These efforts contribute to broader environmental stewardship goals, climate resilience, and improved rural livelihoods.
• Key activities: The program supports water protection initiatives in the Water Tower landscape that safeguard livelihoods and downstream biodiversity. A central feature is integrating outputs from the Securing Water in Agriculture (SWAG) tool into a digital dashboard hosted by the National Irrigation Authority (NIA). It also facilitates water accounting across the four CHEF zones, supporting evidence-based planning and resource management.
  The smallholder transition zone focuses on building resilient ecosystems to support shifts in agrifood systems. This includes avoiding deforestation, rehabilitating degraded lands, and expanding crop-growing areas such as rice and potato—guided by crop suitability mapping and water availability. In collaboration with partners, demonstration sites are being established and operated as living labs for farmers and researchers.
  In semi-arid production systems, the program conducts feed balance analyses in mixed farming–pastoral transition zones and assesses the environmental sustainability of animal feed production practices in these regions.
  The program supports the development of regenerative food systems through the Central Highlands Ecological Foodscape Hub. This includes enhancing nutrition security, restoring habitats, protecting biodiversity, creating rural employment opportunities, improving agricultural productivity, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting the sustainable management of freshwater, land, and ecosystems.
• The initiative is supported by several CGIAR centers, including CIAT, IWMI, CIP, and ICRISAT, which are actively involved in innovation development across the three ecological zones. IITA plays a central role in ideation, co-design, and initialization, providing project management oversight and leading the development of data management systems, protocols, and the sampling framework.
• Other partners that form the secretariat include Micro Enterprises Support Program Trust (MESPT), Sustainable Agriculture Foundation – Africa (SAF-A), AICCRA/ILRI, Kenya National Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KNCCI), Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), and Centre for Training and Integrated Research for ASAL Development (CETRAD).

1. Short description: CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program (SFP) is implementing a program to improve fertilizer efficiency in Kenya. AgWise
2. Key activities: Developing evidence-based fertilizer recommendations for crops like maize and potatoes; providing extension service advisory materials; creating a publicity campaign to raise awareness about refined fertilizer recommendations. This is undertaken through local partners, including KALRO, Egerton University, and Sustain Africa.
3. Donor/Partners: Sustain Africa, Presidential Economic Transformation Secretariat (PETS), Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and other partners. (insert CGIAR Centers involved)
4. Long-term experiments (LTEs) for soil health

1. Short description: Established by the CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program (SFP) in various regions of Kenya (Embu, Machanga, Sidada, and Aludeka) to assess soil organic matter and explore sustainable practices.
2. Aims: To assess long-term sustainability and climate change adaptation; to provide insights into soil health and inform policy decisions regarding sustainable agriculture.
3. Donor/Partners: CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program (SFP)

• Short description: A project that identifies and addresses key knowledge gaps related to soil acidity management for sustainable agricultural productivity and soil health. Develops scalable innovations to provide reliable, timely, and actionable data on acidity-related soil health and crop performance.
• Activities: Broad-scale analysis across sub-Saharan Africa, with focused field and policy-engagement in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania.
• Donor/Partners: Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO). Insert CGIAR Centers supporting the project

• Aflatoxin Control and Mycotoxin Research
• Biotechnology and Genome Editing
• Crop Breeding for Improved Varieties (Banana, Cassava, Enset, Yam, Maize, Soybean, Tomato).
• Nematology and Soil Health
• Sustainable Agronomy Practices
• Value Chain Development (Soybean)
• Digital Agriculture

• Hub/country office information
• Office address: IITA Kenya
  Old Naivasha Rd, ILRI Campus
  P. O. Box 30709-00100, Nairobi Kenya
• Phone number(s): Tel: +254 20 422 3350 or +254711033350
• Contact email: r.zozo@cgiar.org