Through the conventional agriculture approaches, farmers apply costly, resource intensive practices on their farms (monoculture, synthetic fertilisers) but lack the resources to do this consistently which hurts their harvests and wastes resources generated naturally on farms. Soil fertility and land degradation are also pressing issues; the result of continuous cropping, soil erosion and an absence of organic fertilisers. With 37% of Kenyan farms already on degraded land, estimates put the annual cost of land degradation at US$1.3billion.

Growing climate variability and unpredictable weather has increased risks to many crops, discouraging investment especially on smaller plots where rewards may be limited. Thin and distorted agricultural markets often leave farmers with little price visibility or negotiating power, creating a further disincentive to adopting new approaches. Together these factors have led many farmers into a vicious cycle that produces low yields and insufficient income. These systems also damage the environment, compounding the challenge and driving farmers further into poverty.

Female farmers are especially vulnerable due additional barriers stemming from gender discrimination and cultural norms, which restrict their access to vital resources like land, capital and markets. About 80% of Kenyan farmers are women, but only a fraction own their land. Though 32% of households in Kenya are women led, only 7% of women are registered landowners, compared with 30% of men. Although it is women who predominantly manage farms day to day, they are not always making key decisions about practices or crops. Conversely, given their existing workload on the farm and around the home, women may be hesitant to try new agricultural technologies or approaches, especially if these are labour intensive. Moreover, there is a big challenge in developing nations when it comes balancing the demand of food and preserving diversity considering the rapid increase of human population. 

In Kenya, smallholder farmers engage in farming systems that not only lead to low production but also environmental degradation. This is due to lack of knowledge, skills, insufficient resources and tools. The current farming practices are unprofitable and continue to pose a threat to the future of the ecosystem. Although, agriculture remains a key driver of Kenya’s economy with a contribution of around 26% of GDP annually. Primary productivity continues to decline in most marginalised counties that rely almost exclusively on farming as a source of income. Farmers in many parts of the country are hard hit with the negative impacts of climate change such as floods, droughts, deforestation, poor soil health and increasing threat of pests.

To overcome these challenges, regenerative agriculture comes in to address structural issues of declining productivity in farming by providing solutions such as restoration ecosystems and ecosystem services such as water and nutrients that are already depleted, and preservation of the existing biodiversity while increasing land productivity and thus household incomes. Regenerative agriculture (RA) is an essential solution for building the long-term resilience of smallholder farmers and providing them with a sustainable path out of poverty. RA has the potential to meet consumer demand whilst restoring natural environments and driving economic development. The purpose of regenerative practices is to “continually improve and regenerate the health of the soil by restoring its carbon content, which in turn improves plant health, nutrition, and productivity”. By leveraging natural farming methods, RA helps to reduce upfront input costs for smallholder farmers while minimising dependency on synthetic, commercial inputs, which are highly reliant on global supply chains.