Kenya’s highland farmers experiment with no-till, crop diversity, and data-driven agronomy

Kenya’s agricultural image is often defined by tea, coffee and cut flowers, alongside export vegetables such as green beans. But in the high-altitude foothills of Mount Kenya, a quieter transformation is underway among large-scale arable farmers growing wheat, barley, and a widening range of break crops.

At more than 2,000 meters above sea level, farms near Nanyuki, Rumuruti and Nakuru operate in a relatively cool, equatorial climate with year-round temperatures in the low 20s Celsius, 600 to 1,000 millimeters of rainfall, and a constant 12 hours of daylight. All crops are effectively spring varieties, with no winter dormancy.

This environment has shaped a shift toward conservation agriculture led by Agventure, a cooperative formed in 2009 by 10 large-scale farmers managing a combined 12,000 hectares. The group has moved away from cereal monoculture toward a system built on no-till establishment, controlled traffic farming and more diverse rotations.

“The realization was growing that the old system wasn’t sustainable,” said David Jones, a British-born agronomist who has spent eight years advising Agventure members. Early influence came from Australian no-till specialists, prompting study visits to New South Wales and the introduction of peas and oilseed rape into barley and wheat rotations.

With little local knowledge or seed supply for break crops, the cooperative established its own research and development program. It now operates four trial sites totaling about six hectares, with thousands of small plots testing varieties, agronomy and new production approaches.

Cropping is typically split into two planting windows, in March and September or October, with a five- to six-month fallow in between to store moisture. Crops are often planted ahead of seasonal rains to encourage deep rooting, followed by rain through flowering and grain fill and dry conditions toward harvest.

The results have been mixed across crops. European and Australian spring oilseed rape varieties have both performed well, though with different trade-offs. European types tend to yield more but are more susceptible to disease, while Australian varieties offer greater resilience but appear to have a lower yield ceiling.

Wheat has proven more challenging. Many imported varieties struggle under Kenya’s fixed day length, which limits flowering responses. Agventure now works closely with the International Center of Wheat and Maize Improvement (CIMMYT) on variety selection. “Without CIMMYT, it would be impossible to grow wheat in Kenya,” Jones said.

Some farms have pushed experimentation further by reducing or eliminating fallow periods. At Ol Donyo farm, one of the driest in the group, double cropping and cover crops were introduced to accelerate improvements in soil biology after the adoption of no-till.

“Soils used to root only 20 to 30 centimeters deep,” said farm manager Bryn Llewelyn. “Now roots are going into the second meter.” He said the changes have improved resilience to both drought and heavy rainfall, with earthworm populations returning as a visible sign of progress.

However, double cropping has also exposed logistical and economic limits, including tighter planting windows, higher storage needs and increased disease risk. The practice is now used selectively, guided in part by El Niño and La Niña forecasts.

Another focus has been reducing reliance on glyphosate during fallow periods, which historically involved up to five herbicide applications. Several farms are trialing cover crops to suppress weeds, cycle nutrients and improve soil structure, while carefully managing moisture use ahead of the next cash crop.

On Marania farm, cover crops are integrated with a beef operation, grazing up to 300 head of cattle at a time using a mob-grazing system. The herd, based on Aberdeen Angus crossed with local Boran cattle, has helped cut glyphosate use by half while improving animal performance. Early measurements show daily liveweight gains of about one kilogram, roughly double that of cattle grazing unimproved pasture.

The approach remains experimental, with risks of compaction and yield penalties if grazing is too intense. Similar trials at neighboring Kisima farm are testing cover crops as alternatives to peas, alongside chickpeas and beans, to spread production risk.

Cover crops are also being used strategically to support pea production. By analyzing yield data across farms, Jones used artificial intelligence tools to identify trends, including better yields from later plantings and reduced performance where bentazone herbicide was used at higher altitudes. The findings are guiding efforts to use cover crop mulch for weed suppression, cutting herbicide and insecticide use.

In one recent trial, peas planted directly into a cereal rye cover crop avoided aphid sprays altogether, aided by a surge in beneficial insects.

Despite progress, constraints remain. Sourcing seed for both cover crops and new cash-crop varieties is difficult, with no dedicated cover crop seed merchants in Kenya. Farmers rely on local markets, imports where permitted, and on-farm multiplication.

Even so, Agventure members say the shift toward no-till, diversified rotations and integrated livestock is gradually reshaping Kenyan arable farming, offering a model for resilience in a variable climate.