Kenya
Our work in Kenya
- 1,030,000
- Farmers served
- 2,400+
- Tupande staff
- 150 M
- Tree seedlings produced
Smallholder farmers play an important role in contributing to Kenya’s food security, economic stability, and community development.
In Kenya, we operate under the local brand Tupande. Our mission is to transform every farming community in the country by providing sustained food security and pathways to prosperity.
Since 2006, we have been working with Kenya’s smallholder farmers to provide them with high-quality agricultural products and services in cash or as flexible payment plans. Guided by our expert field and storefront staff, farmers can choose the products that best meet their specific farm requirements.
How we serve
- Quality products: Farmers have access to quality farm products and services all year round.
- Training support: Our field officers provide expert, tailored training directly to farmers throughout the year.
- Technology: Farmers can conveniently access input purchases, training, or market access services on their phones through the Tupande App and our shortcode service.
- Shops: Our 330 storefronts, known as dukas in Swahili, have brought our services closer to the farmers we serve.
- Agroforestry: We have 330 tree nurseries across all our areas of operation.
- Market access: Farmers can access export value chains for avocados and macadamia. Tupande is working towards the addition of dried fruits to the market access program, currently piloting with bananas.
"I always have access to the inputs and products I need. It has enabled me get solar lights, tarps and a phone in addition to farming inputs!"
How we serve Farmers
To reach as many farmers as possible, we both serve farmers directly and also operate retail shops and online services.
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In person
1,747 field agents provide year-round training and support to 500,000 farmers
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In shops
330 local shops sell quality farm supplies like seed, and services like soil testing
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Online
Any farmer in Kenya can access products or training through their mobile phone
Meet a One Acre Fund Client
Women smallholder farmers like Hilder Ongeri typically invest more of what they earn back into their families and communities than their male counterparts. This has knock-on effects for the generations that follow. Read her story
Our impact in action
When Eugine Asubila turned 18, she couldn’t start earning fast enough, and she found her first opportunity in hairdressing. Moving from house to house, she offered her services to whoever could pay her. But, even after years of hard work, she couldn't quite save enough to fulfill her dream of opening a salon.
In 2016, she got married, and her father-in-law gave her a piece of land to farm on to boost her family’s meager income and provide for her family.
“Even though the land was small—less than half an acre—I did not have the money to purchase farm inputs like seed and fertilizer, I was lucky to enroll with One Acre Fund, where I got access to farm inputs on credit and started farming, growing maize and later beans. I also opened a salon!" says Eugine.
As Eugine’s story illustrates, smallholder agriculture is empowering young women farmers by not only offering ready employment, but also by creating the means for them to diversify their incomes and explore new business opportunities.
Explore more of our work in Kenya
Growing resilience: Farmers lead the way in Kenya and Rwanda
Picture a farmer in Kenya sowing seeds of managu, an indigenous leafy green packed with nutrients her children need to thrive. Or a farmer in Rwanda planting cover crops to enrich her soil and protect against erosion. These small acts of resilience are happening against a backdrop of enormous challenges like degraded soils, and rising food insecurity.
How the science of soil testing translates into farmer impact
Oliver Shibonje, a retired geography and music teacher from Kenya's Kakamega County, has traded in his chalk and classroom for the open fields, embracing full-time farming with a focus on maize, vegetables, and sugarcane.
How profitable farming is nurturing a generation of women entrepreneurs
Eugine’s Asubila story is a testament to how smallholder agriculture is empowering women across Kenya – and sub-Saharan Africa – to become entrepreneurs by creating the means for them to set up new businesses.
More Than A Tree: How trees are changing Esther’s future
On most days, you will find Esther Wangari tending to her farm, located deep in the heart of Kirinyaga County, in Kenya’s central highlands. Bordering her maize and beans fields, Esther’s latest passion – tree planting – thrives. For this Kenyan smallholder farmer, her new venture is more than just about planting trees; it is also about her livelihood and securing her family’s future.
Invest in Farmers
Farmers choose to work with One Acre Fund to improve their farms and their lives. A donation helps One Acre Fund serve more hard-working farm families in Kenya.
