Our programmes

Farm Africa and the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) are addressing the challenges faced by small businesses in Kakuma and Kalobeyei refugee camps in northern Kenya, where the arid environment makes agricultural production difficult, the local population has effectively prohibited refugees from keeping livestock and there is poor access to markets and minimal employment opportunities. The project’s main focus is to stimulate innovation and strengthen economic opportunities for refugee and host community entrepreneurs.​

The project is providing financing and business development services to micro and small enterprises (MSEs), including tailored mentorship, ensuring they gain the expertise and financial support they need to generate both revenue and local jobs.

The surging demand for fish in Kenya presents a promising opportunity for economic growth through the aquaculture and mariculture sectors. However, despite their potential, these sectors remain largely untapped by young men and women seeking employment and work opportunities.

Recognising this untapped potential, the Mastercard Foundation is joining forces with Farm Africa and partners to build thriving, dynamic aquaculture and mariculture sectors.

Farm Africa is helping to increase the production, incomes and climate resilience of 60,000 farmers in Embu and Tharaka Nithi in Kenya by training 50 farmer groups, each with 200 members, in regenerative agriculture.

A key feature of the project is training 250 village-based advisors (VBAs) in regenerative agriculture techniques, who then share the knowledge with more farmers across the counties to support them to grow more fruit and vegetables at home for their families. The training covers post-harvest handling, storage, kitchen garden establishment and agribusiness acumen.

The project also builds the capacity of local and national governments in developing policies on the promotion of regenerative agriculture. We will influence research institutions to adopt regenerative agriculture best practices, as well as input distributors at a commercial level.

The Waitrose Foundation wants to create better livelihoods for employees and their families, creating stronger communities and sustainable supply chains around the world. Since 2017, Farm Africa has worked with the Foundation to make their vision a reality, supporting those that grow, pick and pack Waitrose & Partners’ fresh produce in Kenya.

Farm Africa is helping to improve the livelihoods of 12,000 employees across seven vegetable and flower farms in the Waitrose & Partners supply chain by managing a series of projects that are funded by sales of Foundation produce and supplier farms in the UK.

The project focuses on five key areas including: health and wellbeing, supporting learning, environment and green energy; improved water and sanitation and access to finance.

Growing Futures supported 800 young farmers in Trans-Nzoia County and 1,700 young farmers in Elgeyo Marakwet County to grow export-quality crops, set up sustainable relationships with buyers and boost their resilience to climate change and seasonal variability. The project helped young people in western Kenya set up profitable farming enterprises growing and selling vegetables that are in high demand, such as French beans, mangetouts, kale, tomatoes and cabbages.

With financial support from the Vitol Foundation, Cultivate provided businesses in Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia with tailored business development support and training using scalable online delivery mechanisms. Drawing on Farm Africa’s experience of analysing value chains and supporting first-mile agribusinesses, Cultivate worked with start-up and early-stage businesses with a $20,000 – $1million turnover.

Based in Kenya, Cultivate aimed to increase demand and facilitate the supply of business development services to rural small and growing agribusinesses (SGBs) across eastern Africa. We helped businesses develop and implement effective business strategies, boost their productivity and production, meet commodity standards and improve marketing operations and market access.

Through Cultivate’s online business skills training sessions and technical advisory support, SGBs identified risks and opportunities, conducted market and opportunities analysis, fostered business resilience and improved their pricing, costing and profitability for sustainable growth.

Farm Africa partnered with Ten Senses Africa, an agricultural company dedicated to organic, fair trade and ethical business practices, to support smallholders living in Kwale, Kilifi and Lamu counties in coastal Kenya to establish or develop profitable cashew and sesame businesses.

The four-year Kenya Market-led Aquaculture Programme (KMAP), which was implemented by Farm Africa alongside a consortium of five supporting partners, worked directly with farmers, aquaculture inputs suppliers and traders to improve production, strengthen market systems and the policy environment. The project focused on strengthening fish farmers’ links to high-quality, affordable input suppliers and improving fish farmers’ market orientation and profitability.

We provided technical and business training to 1,114 medium and large-scale fish farmers, hatcheries and fish feed producers in West and Central Kenya. Fish farmers formed farmer groups for consistent production and supply of fish to the market to help the industry thrive. We also supported private sector participation in creating an enabling policy environment for aquaculture development.

The project contributed to the removal of the 5% fisheries levy on imported feeds. We successfully lobbied for the enactment of a bill that introduced an aquaculture inputs (feeds and fingerlings) cost sharing system between fish farmers and the county government of Kakamega to boost aquaculture production in the county.