Improving soybean production in Kenya using digital and extension approaches

The goal of this project is to help at least 30,000 farmers, particularly women, successfully access a neglected food market so they can improve their livelihoods. With partners, Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise Ltd (ACRE Africa) and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), CABI will develop an integrated suite of services, that includes new digital surveillance systems, to help them increase soybean yields and sales through improved production and access to high-value markets. EO and ground sensor data along with pest models will be developed to inform farmers when and where the soybean crop is most at risk of attack. This will be combined with actionable advice on how to control pests using IPM-based approaches. Methods and tools will be tested for accuracy and effectiveness and will be used to inform and validate financial sustainability criteria of service providers (advisors, off-takers, insurers, lenders). A comprehensive social support system will enable women farmers to engage with this high-value commodity in their local markets through entrepreneurship training, whilst detailed information on good agricultural practices and financial support (including direct access to micro-credit and novel pest insurance products) appropriate to climate-smart approaches, and risk management advice will be given. Project activities: (a) Train approximately 300 of ACRE Africa's VESPs (Village Extension Service Providers) in basic plant doctor processes, focussing on soybean pest management, with the purpose of scaling production and supply from female farmers; (b) Extend and test an innovative 'Picture-Based Insurance' tool as a means of accelerating uptake of pest insurance products in Kenya; (c) Validate pest models across rural and peri-urban locations; (d) Determine if models provide insurance providers with valuable data to inform 'basis risk' calculations, alerting them to the validity of forthcoming claims; and (e) Determine value-add to insurers, examining the probability of longer-term B2B sustainability funding.