Impact
What we have done, what we are building toward, and why it matters beyond this farm.
How We Think About Impact
Farming Without Data
Smallholder farmers throughout Kenya make planting, irrigation, and harvest decisions without weather data, soil analysis, or market price information. Without data, every season carries avoidable risk — and every lesson disappears because no one documented it.
Measure, Then Decide
Secure water infrastructure first. Then deploy weather stations, soil sensors, and laboratory analysis to replace guesswork with measurements. Start with the basics before scaling to more advanced tools.
What We Are Doing Now
Completed one full crop cycle. Established a livestock herd that is growing through natural breeding. Planning crop diversification including cashew, watermelon, and cowpeas. Researching and costing sensor equipment. Publishing results openly.
What We Expect to Change
Better irrigation timing through soil moisture data. Earlier response to weather events. Reduced crop losses. More predictable yields season over season. A documented, open record of what works and what does not — available for any farmer in similar conditions to use.
Why It Matters Beyond This Farm
Over 160,000 farming households in Kilifi County face similar conditions. Starting a farm in Kenya is hard — not because the knowledge doesn’t exist, but because it’s scattered, anecdotal, and rarely published with real numbers. If data-driven decisions demonstrably reduce losses and improve yields on our farm, the documented model is already public. The open journal is how that knowledge transfers.
SDG Alignment
How our work connects to the global goals. Items with a green border reflect current operations. Amber items depend on future deployment.
No Poverty
Operating in Kilifi County where 70% of the population lives below the poverty line. Providing casual employment income to local workers in Gongoni Ward and building a farm operation that demonstrates viable livelihoods from smallholder agriculture.
Zero Hunger
Completed first crop cycle in Gongoni Ward with green grams and maize intercrop. Livestock herd supports soil fertility. Crop diversification plan includes cashew, watermelon, cowpeas, and sesame.
Decent Work and Economic Growth
Providing casual employment to local workers in Gongoni Ward: one regular caretaker (woman, livestock management) and approximately five seasonal workers per cropping season (mostly women, paid daily wage). All workers are sourced locally.
Gender Equality
The majority of farm workers are women from the local community. Our regular livestock caretaker is a woman from Gongoni Ward. As operations scale, we track employment by gender and prioritise fair wages and safe working conditions.
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Researching and costing precision agriculture equipment for phased deployment: weather station, soil sensors connected via LoRaWAN gateway, with 4G backhaul for remote data access. Phase 1 deploys weather station and soil sensors; Phase 2 expands coverage as cropping area grows. Laboratory analysis provides ground-truth calibration for sensor readings. Full equipment comparison and costs are documented in the journal.
Depends on: First sensor deployment and data collection.
Climate Action
Planning weather station and soil sensor deployment to improve adaptation to climate variability — responding to rainfall events, temperature shifts, and soil moisture changes with data rather than guesswork. This is weather monitoring, not climate science, but our first season showed that even basic meteorological awareness would have changed planting decisions.
Depends on: First weather station and soil sensor deployment.
Responsible Consumption and Production
All soil fertility managed through livestock manure. Production decisions documented openly. At 6 acres, our contribution to sustainable production patterns is modest — this claim strengthens as we demonstrate consistent results and others adopt the approach.
Depends on: Multiple seasons of documented sustainable production with evidence of adoption.
Life on Land
Aiming to build soil organic matter through manure-based fertility management designed to improve the land over time. Soil analysis needed to verify baseline and track changes.
Depends on: Baseline soil analysis completed and documented.
Results Framework
Specific indicators we track, with baselines from Season 1 and targets for the next 24 months.
| Indicator | Baseline (Season 1) | Target (12 months) | Target (24 months) | Verification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maize yield per acre | 45 kg/acre (first season, uncultivated soil, intercrop) | 400–800 kg/acre | 800–1,200 kg/acre | Harvest weight records, published in journal |
| Green gram yield per acre | 0 kg/acre (total crop loss) | 150–300 kg/acre | 300–500 kg/acre | Harvest weight records, published in journal |
| Crop diversification | 2 crops (maize, green grams) | 4 crops (add watermelon, cowpeas or sesame) | 6+ crops (add cashew, papaya, coconut establishment) | Planting records and photos in journal |
| Livestock herd size | 10 (9 adults, 1 kid) | 14–18 (natural breeding) | 20–25 | Tag registry, published in journal |
| Soil organic carbon (%) | No baseline (soil test pending before mid-April 2026) | Baseline established; expected range 0.5–1.5% for coastal Kilifi soils | Maintain or increase from baseline (≥0.1 percentage point change detectable via CropNuts lab) | CropNuts laboratory soil analysis reports (annual) |
| Local employment (women / total) | ~6 casual workers, majority women (1 regular female caretaker, ~5 seasonal) | 6–8 casual workers per season, majority women | 8–12 casual workers per season, with gender tracking | Payroll records with gender breakdown, published in journal |
| Data points collected | 0 (no sensors deployed) | Weather + 4 soil sensor readings (continuous) | 12+ months of continuous data, published openly | Sensor dashboards, data exports in journal |
| Manure production and application | Not yet measured | Track wheelbarrow loads collected per month and acres dressed per season | Quantified application rate (loads/acre) with soil carbon correlation | Monthly tally records, published in journal |
| Water infrastructure | None (fully rain-fed) | Underground tank constructed; rainwater harvesting operational | Irrigation coverage for 2+ acres; second crop cycle enabled | Construction records, water volume logs, published in journal |
| Knowledge reach | 0 (website just launched) | Monthly unique visitors tracked; at least 1 documented external reference | Evidence of journal data used by other farmers, extension officers, or researchers | Web analytics, documented references or inquiries |
Risk Assessment
The key risks we face and how we are managing them.
Land Tenure
The land is currently owned by the founder personally. Ownership will be transferred to Keragita Farms Ltd when finances allow. Until then, the company operates on the founder’s land with full operational control.
Water
Currently rain-fed only. An underground water tank is our immediate infrastructure priority, fed by rainwater harvested from the roof of a planned storage building. A borehole is planned after farm expansion. Without water infrastructure, we are limited to one or two rain-fed crop cycles per year.
Weather
Recent seasons have alternated between drought and extended rains. We mitigate this by focusing on drought-resistant crops (green grams, cowpeas, sesame) and pivoting to short-cycle crops like watermelon during wetter seasons. Sensor deployment will improve our ability to respond to conditions in real time.
Market Access
Malindi’s wholesale market (40 km) is our primary sales channel. We also sell to middlemen who buy directly at the farm gate. As volumes grow, we will pursue direct supply to hotels along the Malindi–Watamu coast for premium crops like papaya and watermelon.
Pests and Wildlife
Wildlife including hyenas poses a risk to livestock at night. Perimeter fencing is included in Phase 1 infrastructure. Crop pest management details will be documented as we build operational experience across more seasons.
Founder Dependency
The founder is currently based in Germany and provides the majority of capital. Zakaria manages all on-site operations. The long-term plan is for the founder to relocate to Kenya once the farm is established and profitable. In the interim, clear role division and open publishing of all decisions provide oversight.
Scalability and Knowledge Transfer
Our technology stack is expensive for a single smallholder — we acknowledge this openly. But the data it generates serves far beyond one farm. Weather and soil data from our station is relevant to every farmer in Gongoni Ward and surrounding areas. Keragita Farms aims to demonstrate what is possible. Once neighbouring farmers see the results, they can pool resources to acquire shared equipment at their own pace — a model that already works for other agricultural inputs in Kenya. We plan to provide free webinars and online training to share our methods and data openly. On-site training visits will be available upon facilitation. Over time, this knowledge-transfer function may become a service in its own right.
How Knowledge Reaches Farmers
Publishing data online is necessary but not sufficient. Our dissemination plan has three channels: (1) free online training and webinars, accessible to anyone with a phone and data; (2) on-site visits and practical demonstrations at the farm for farmers, extension officers, and agronomists; (3) relationships with local institutions — the Magarini Sub-County Agricultural Office, KALRO Mtwapa, veterinary services, and farmer cooperatives — who can carry the information to farmers we cannot reach directly. We will also explore distributing printed materials through government offices and agricultural seminars once we have proof-of-concept results to share.
Environmental and Social Considerations
We acknowledge that converting bushland to farmland has biodiversity implications. We mitigate this by maintaining boundary vegetation, avoiding clearing beyond the six-acre plot, and building soil health through organic methods. Our livestock browse communally on surrounding common land rather than requiring additional clearing. We are committed to documenting environmental outcomes alongside agricultural ones — including soil carbon measurements once baseline analysis is complete.
Gender and Youth
The majority of our farm workers are women from the local community, consistent with coastal Kenya where women perform most agricultural labour. Our regular livestock caretaker is a woman from Gongoni Ward. As operations scale, we will prioritise fair wages, safe working conditions, and opportunities for young people entering farming. Zakaria’s role as farm manager demonstrates that experienced local farmers — not just degree holders — can lead data-driven operations.
Governance
Keragita Farms Ltd is a registered Kenyan private limited company (PVT-QQ1OEVKO) with a dedicated company bank account. The farm is currently founder-managed with an on-site farm manager. We plan to establish an advisory board with expertise in coastal agriculture, agribusiness, and community development once we have completed a second crop cycle and can offer advisors meaningful data to work with. Our commitment to publishing all financial and operational data openly serves as a form of public accountability in the interim.
Get in Touch
If you want to support open, documented farming — as a donor, partner, fellow farmer, or simply someone curious — we would like to hear from you.